Winx Club Rewrite 3,5: Curse of the Coven
by ArachCobra
Summary: When Valtor was defeated, he left Bloom with a worrisome piece of info. That somebody from the Coven was still active and that person must be responsible for maintaining the curse on Domino. But soon after, it becomes clear that much more than just a person has survived the Company of Light's attempt to eradicate the Coven of the Ancestral Witches.
1. Summer Days

Winx Club Rewrite 3.5: Curse of the Coven

 _AN: Hello everyone. ArachCobra and Givenea here. This is the beginning of our rewrite of the first Winx Club movie, which will be divided into three chapters. Hope you all have fun reading it and we'll be looking forward to seeing your reviews._

Chapter 1: Summer Days

The taxi followed the snaking road through the beautiful hills of Harmony. The sun was bathing the area in heat, baking the interior of the car. So it was with great relief that the passenger could step outside, after the hovering vehicle finally came to a halt.

"You have a good day now, buddy," the driver hollered, before driving on to his next assignment.

The passenger, Hagen Samson, took a deep breath of the fresh wind coming in from the ocean, happy to be out of the stuffy car. He was an man in his sixties, with the signs of age apparent in his long white beard, the many wrinkles on his face and his scarred, weather-beaten skin. But he was still in his prime, as evident by his unbending posture and massive muscles that bulged beneath his fine blue clothes. He marched down the road and soon arrived at a nice little house. He paused for a moment, before retrieving a small piece of paper from his pocket, on which he had written down an address. He checked the number of the house with the one on the paper, before finally concluding that the taxi had indeed brought him to the right place. He marched up on the porch, raised a massive, meaty fist and gently knocked on the front door, before folding his arms behind his back as he patiently waited.

A few seconds passed, before the door opened, revealing the face of Faragonda. "Ah, hello Hagen. You're early."

"Well, I gave myself some extra time in case I got lost," he replied in a gruff voice, before bowing and greeting the headmistress with a: "It's good to see you again, Emanuela."

"Likewise. Please, do come in." The Fairy headmistress pulled back, allowing the massive man entry into the house. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Some cold water would be nice, yes," he confirmed. "Taxi ride was sweltering. Is it summer around here? I always get the seasons confused between worlds."

"It's actually mid-spring," Faragonda replied, as she went into the kitchen. "But it won't get much hotter than this. Harmonians generally like their summer to be without heatstrokes."

"Generally?"

"Well, you know how weird Oppositus can be." She handed him a large glass of cold water, which he poured into his mouth.

"Ah, that hit the spot," he said happily, as he handed the glass back. "Much appreciated."

"My pleasure. Now, I have to get lunch ready, so I'll be with you in a moment." Faragonda opened the refrigerator and started looking through its content. "Perhaps you can have a chat with Bloom and Eugene while I get things ready. They're in the living room."

"Ah, Bloom." Hagen paused. "That was the girl you mentioned when you contacted me, right? The lost heir of Domino?"

"That is indeed the case."

The large man left the kitchen and moved into the living room, listening to the conversation coming from there. "...and then I revealed that the weird trees had actually been Abyss mutated ents the entire time. Though I might have overdone it. Almost a complete wipe. Fortunately, they where high level enough that..."

Hagen entered the living room, noticing the redheaded girl and the white-haired boy sitting by the table, the latter telling some sort of story while waving his arms around a lot, though he stopped talking when he suddenly noticed the newcomer. "Sorry, I did not mean to interrupt you," the big assured them. "I am Hagen Samson."

"Oh, Emanuela mentioned you would be visiting today," the redhead noted.

"Indeed. And you're Bloom I take it." He got a confirming nod from the Dominian princess, before he turned to the boy. "And you are?"

"Eugene Bijoux," the bespectacled teen replied, while correcting his glasses. "Wait, you're Hagen Samson of the Shining Steel, right? From the Company of Light?"

"Yes. Though please, it's just Hagen," the large man requested, as he sat down in the sofa, which slightly protested from the weight of his massive musculature. "I'm not much of a title person. I'm just very good at my job."

"I get that," Bloom sighed. "Not only do I have to be called Princess Bloom Peterson of Domino every time I run into a journalist, half the time they can't get my name right."  
"Because of the court cases, if I remember," Eugene commented.

"Yeah. Now there are people who insist on calling me Princess Phila Kadmos of Domino," Bloom replied annoyed. "No disrespect to my biological family, but that's just not my name. I mean, I'd be willing to add the last name or something if it's so dang important, but I'm not changing my first name."

Hagen scratched his beard. "Apologies, but... What court cases?"

"You know, with Valtor and the Usurpers," the redhead explained. There was a slight and awkward pause. "You know, Valtor Kadmos. My brother."

"Hagen is an incurable workaholic who forgets to keep taps on the worlds," Faragonda commented, as she walked in with a large pot of fresh tea. "He's probably been busy with something and forgot to check the news for months."

The large man huffed, causing his large beard to form waves. "I've had several patrons requesting some very important custom jobs. And I do know who Valtor is." He paused. "I just didn't know the court cases were over." He eyed Bloom, his face taking on a much more sombre expression. "I also heard about your sister. My condolences. Daphne was a good woman. Wish I had gotten the chance to know her better."

"Thank you. It helps knowing she managed to accomplish what she wanted before she moved on," Bloom replied gratefully." And as for the court cases, well, they're not entirely over." The redhead sighed. "Icy, Darcy and Stormy are still be hurled from court to court, as everyone tries to figure out who should judge them for what."

"It has my sister frustrated, to say the least," Eugene mumbled.

"But Valtor's case has been finished, yes. With the Omega sentence having been completely abolished, he was judged by a Dominian court in cooperation with the court of the Roccalucian Order, where he was sentenced to a stay at Lightrock Monastery until a professional therapist judges him capable of rejoining society."

"Right. Well, that sounds good. Very good," Hagen stated, nodding his head. "I did hear you helped stop him some months ago."

"Yeah." Bloom was silent for a moment. "It was rough. I don't want to go through anything like that again. But hopefully what we did will be enough to make him stay on the right path."

"If nothing else, you did everything you could," Eugene assured her. "That's really all anyone can do."

"Alright, lunch is ready," Faragonda said, as she finished putting dishes on the table.

"Great. I was starting to get hungry," Eugene said, as he got up. "So anyway, as I was saying, Bloom, they were high level enough that..."

...

In the far distance, the sun was slowly approaching the horizon, bathing the entire area in an orange glow. Inside the house, Bloom, Hagen and Emanuela sat around the wooden table eating dinner.

The bearded man had just finished eating the ground beef-esque meat they had been served, when he asked: "So where did you meet this Eugene fella?"

"Oh, let's see..." Bloom mumbled as she thought back. "It was... Last year. At Stella's princess ball. Back when she got turned into a giant frog. He was at the party and I struck up a conversation with him because he seemed nice. Also to get away from the journalists and other nobles who were hounding me with questions."

"No wonder so many of our leaders turns into complete basket cases with the way everyone new is hunted down for titbits of gossip," the headmistress mumbled annoyed.

"And when I ran into him during all those court cases, we just started hanging out occasionally." The redhead took a sip of water. "And no, unlike what some papers claim, we are not dating. We just happen to have become friends."

"I didn't imagine anything else," Hagen assured her.

"Thanks. It's nice having some more friends." The Dominian princess sighed. "Especially with me being unable to go to Earth."

"Have you heard from your friends there?" Faragonda asked.

"Yeah. Mitzi called a couple of days ago. I think she's starting to get suspicious."

"I know it must be hard on you, Bloom. But there's sadly little that can be done about it."

"And don't I know it." The redhead sighed, before turning her attention to Hagen. "By the way, Eugene mentioned that you were part of the Company of Light. Did you go on missions with them and such?"

"Heh. Occasionally, but mostly I made equipment for them," Hagen stated proudly. "Not fancy techno-gadgets and weird modern dohickies, mind you. I'm an old school artificer, so I made armour that could stop artillery and blades that could slice through rock like it was made out of butter. Wondrous enchanted rings and amulets that granted great boons to the wielder."

"And then there was the wrong trousers," Emanuela commented.

"I was going through a phase," the bearded artificer huffed. "Anyway, my greatest achievement was the creation of your father's sword. Months went into folding the complex enchantments into the layers of steel. And when it was done, I swear, you'd be hard-pressed to find a finer blade. That thing was forged to be near-indestructible, capable of interacting with the flows of magic itself. Why, with but a swing it could cut enchantments apart or even reflect them. It could slice apart steel and I had to forge a special scabbard for it just to prevent accidental havoc."

"Oh. What happened to it?" Bloom asked eagerly.

Hagen sighed. "It disappeared alongside your parents. Once hoped to use it to pinpoint where they had ended up, but either those damn Ancestral Witches actually did manage to obliterate it or it ended up somewhere I couldn't sense it. Probably because of that dang curse they helped your brother place on Domino, if I had to make a guess." He paused. "I never gave up looking for them, mind you. Parts of me dearly wishes that they are alive, somewhere out there, but after so long, it's getting kinda hard to believe."  
Bloom rubbed her chin. "Well, maybe Valtor can help you. I'm sure he knows something."

"Unfortunately, Valtor should not be discussing anything related to Domino until his appointed therapist says that it's safe to do so," Faragonda mentioned. "So that will have to wait."

"It's okay," Hagen assured the redhead. "And I do appreciate the thought, Bloom. If you hear anything from him that might help us track down your parents, do give me a call. I was a good friend of your father and I'd feel like a sodding poor pal if I didn't give it my all trying to find them. If they truly have passed on, at least having some closure would be nice."

"Yeah," Bloom replied, as she jabbed a piece of meat with her fork. "I can kinda understand that."

...

Hagen went home the next evening and a couple more days drifted by without anything major happening. Bloom started to get accustomed to the feeling of peace her vacation brought her. No school, no issues, just enjoying the calm and quiet while occasionally being visited by her friends.

Still, even in the midst of such peacefulness, there was a slight sliver of concern that prevented her from fully relaxing. The fact that, according to Valtor, somewhere, somehow, a member of the Coven was still alive. And that they were working to keep the curse that had befallen Domino active.

Still, she was not going to let something like that spoil her vacation. And so, one delightful summer day, she eagerly ran outside upon hearing from Emanuela that her friends had arrived.

"Girls. It's so good to see you all again," Bloom said happily, as she greeted her five friends.

"Likewise," Musa replied cheerfully.

"It is good to see you too," Flora said courteously.

"'Sbeen a while, Firetop," Techna added exuberantly.

"The pleasure is all mine," Aisha greeted in a dignified tone.

"'Ello," Stella replied in a subdued voice.

Bloom blinked. "Is everything okay, Stella?"

"No."  
"Results just came back from Alfea," Musa said. "And... Well... Things didn't go that well for her."

"Didn't go that well? It was a totally unmitigated disaster," Stella commented, before marching over to a nearby bench to sulk.

"Her reliance upon her family's artefact finally caught up with her in the practical exams. Combined with a lack of theoretical knowledge, it resulted in her exam result being graded as unsatisfactory," Flora said.

"And that means?" Bloom inquired.

"That Suntop is going to be joining our class next year," Techna added. "Isn't that great? I mean, sure, it sucks that she flopped, but now she gets to hang with us in class all year."

"All this adventuring business hasn't been helping," the Solarian blonde complained, as the others joined her by the picnic bench. "I've been flying around left and right to stop Valtor from mucking up everything. It's tots unfair."

"Stella, you should not see it as a mark of failure," Flora tried sympathetically. "Rather, it simply indicated that you are not yet ready to take that step forward. There is always a couple for whom that happens, especially in the higher grades. At least our teachers are still convinced that you are committed to learning."

"Easy for you to say. I bet you wouldn't write that wild magic was another word for a nature knack," the blonde gloomily insisted.

"Wild magic?" Bloom asked.

"Raw magic in a physical form. A rather dangerous, if potent substance," Flora explained.

"See. That's tots what I mean," Stella said exasperatedly. "You know this stuff before you've even started your fourth year."

"True, but then again I had to learn about it during my education on Limphea," the noble brunette explained.

"Why is that?" Aisha inquired.

"Puddles of wild magic occasionally manifest on Limphea. They can make the wildlife very dangerous."

"Wait, when you say very dangerous, do you mean as in comparison to how things normally are on Limphea?" Musa asked surprised.

"Yes."

"That is a horrifying thought."

"So what have you all been up to this summer?" Techna asked, changing the subject. "I've been hanging with Timmy and working on my wingpack."

"That flying death-trap?" Musa asked. "What, you're going to sell it as an instrument of spectacular suicide?"

"Laugh it up Cacophony, but I'm nearing a breakthrough," the scarred girl replied proudly. "Soon, everyone in the multiverse will be able to fly."

"Face first into the earth must likely," the black-haired musician commented.

"I, for one, look forward to seeing if your endeavour will be a success," Flora said supportively. "Especially considering the great amounts of effort you have put into the device. And as for what I have been doing lately, me and Mirta went to one of Helia's exhibits the other day."

"Helia has an exhibit?" Aisha asked.

"Well, to be precise, he was part of an exhibit. He is still only a slowly rising star in the art community."

"Doing better than me in that regard," Bloom commented. "I don't think anything I ever sketched would have even gotten noticed if he didn't paint on it."

"Well, it's not like you need the extra fame," Musa said. "What with being the up and coming queen of Domino, you've gotten plenty of spotlight action already."

"Don't remind me," the redhead groaned, as she buried her head in her arms. "I fear the day they shush out that I'm here."

"Yes. This picturesque piece of Harmony would be quite marred by the addition of mountains of insincere gifts and letters oiled up with unnecessary flattery," Flora commented dryly.

"So what have you been doing, besides dodging the press?" Aisha inquired.

"Well, a couple of days ago, Emanuela was visited by Hagen Samson, another Company of Light member," Bloom said. "He's a cool guy. An artificer. Apparently made a really impressive sword for my biological father back in the day. Other than that..." She rubbed her chin. "Well, Eugene has come by visiting a couple of times."

"Ah yes, the Dominian redhead's new paramour if the gossip mongers are to be believed," Musa teased.

"My first action as queen will be to declare total war on the tabloid media," the redhead grumbled. "No, we're just good friends. We talk about normal stuff. It's nice to meet nobles who don't want to fish for political favours."

"It can get quite tiresome, yes," Stella agreed.

"And what else? Oh, I've been planning a date with Sky two days from now. So hopefully that will go well."

"If nothing else, ought to be interesting," Techna added. "Squire always knows how to make things special."

"Usually by putting his neurons on pause and leaving the thinking to his testosterones," Musa snarked.

"Well, at least he tries to do the right thing," Aisha said. "I think that, at the very least, is commendable."

"Yes, but you also think Nabu's sticky flattery is charming."

"Well, we can't all be drawn to grumpy jackasses with exploded hairdos," Techna added innocently.

"I'm starting to get why you're so scarred."

"It's a gift."

...

"So how has life been treating you, Bloom?" Sky asked. Having just finished dinner at a seaside restaurant, the two of them were now walking hand-in-hand down a path by the beach, which was bathed in the last rays of the setting sun.

"It's been... Nice," the redhead said. "I've had so much stuff to worry about lately, I almost forgot how it felt to be able to just relax. I occasionally have trouble sleeping, but my therapist says that's pretty normal for one who has gone through what I have."

"I can relate," the blond stated. "All the training in the world can't really prepare you for how things will be when shit really hits the fan. At least Valtor wasn't as destructive as either the Usurpers or Darkar."

"Have they come up with a fancy name for it yet?" Bloom inquired. "You know, like the Usurper Crisis and the Phoenix War?"

"Currently, most seem to go with the Second Valtor Rebellion," the Eraklian prince said. "By the way, speaking of Valtor, how is he doing?"

"Not sure. I talked with his therapist and he said he would like to wait a bit before allowing us to meet. He wants to make sure seeing me won't cause him to experience relapses."

"Well, doesn't sound like things are worsening, if nothing else."

They walked in silence for a bit longer.

"What about you?" Bloom finally asked. "You haven't really said anything about how things have been back at Eraklyon."

"I've been trying not to think too much about it. 'Fraid I might get an ulcer if I do," Sky groaned. "It's been busy like you wouldn't believe. Going out with you has been one of the few concessions I've been allowed lately. Otherwise, it's just been a non-stop barrage of official business because..."

He was cut off by the roaring of an engine, as a teal vessel flew over them, before stopping in mid-air and hitting the two with a projector light. "Prince Sky Herakles," sounded an obviously magnified voice from a loudspeaker. "This is guard captain Tressa Vilmore. What the fuck are you doing out here?"

"I'M ON A DATE!" Sky yelled at the ship. "I TOLD YOU SO BEFORE I LEFT!"

The vessel slowly lowered, as a hatch in the side opened, allowing an armed woman to exit. "No you did not."

"I didn't?" the Eraklian prince asked. "I could have sworn that..."

"And if you had told us, you wouldn't have been allowed to go anywhere. The king has ordered that you are to stay within the castle until things are finished," Tressa interrupted him. "So get in already. Your father is kinda pissed that you ran off without saying anything."

"Aw, sheesh," Sky groaned. "Look, can I at least finish my..."

"No, you cannot," Tressa barked. "Get in, now. I was allowed to handcuff you if necessary."

"Sounds like your dad is kinda miffed," Bloom dryly noted.

"Yeah. Sorry 'bout that. I'll message you as soon as possible," Sky said, before giving her a quick peck on the cheek and then jumped on-board. "Though I might not be able to contact you for a while."

"Probably not," Tressa groaned, as she pressed a button to close the hatch. "If I have to go flying around the multiverse for you again, I swear by the dragon's flaming breath that I will take your..." Her threats where muted by the closing hatch and the vessel darted off.

Bloom blinked a couple of times, before slowly touching her cheek. A small smile slowly blossomed on her face. "Ought to be interesting indeed."

She stood there for a moment, before her phone's ringtone shook her out of her thoughts. She took the call and put the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Phil-I mean... Bloom?" sounded a familiar voice.

"Valtor?" she asked in surprise.

"I'll take that as a yes," came her half-brother's voice. "So good news. I am now allowed to talk with you, due to a reduced risk of me trying to take over the world."

"Did your therapist say that?" Bloom asked, eyebrow raised.

"I'm paraphrasing," the Dominian prince added. "Anyway, I've also been allowed to look at some old reports about Domino. Surveys and such. And I might just have stumbled across a vital clue that could possibly help us find a way to end the curse. Interested?"

Bloom thought about it for a moment. "Well, uhm... Guess it couldn't hurt."

"It probably won't. When can you come to Lightrock?"

"Oh well, I haven't got any plans for tomorrow, so I'll try to see if it's feasible. And if not, uhn, well I'll call you back."

...

It was a little past noon when Bloom arrived at Lightrock Monastery. She had to admit, the mountaintop structure was awe inspiring. A friendly ogre secretary had shown her the way to her brother's room, where the redhead now found herself at a standstill.

She took a deep breath as she looked at the door. Last time she had met Valtor, it had involved four natural disasters, an abandoned troglodyte city, a hit squad of elemental spirits and the guy himself temporarily losing his mind and turning into a demon, followed by the final death of her sister. She hoped that it would go better this time.

Finally, she swallowed and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

The redhead went inside. It was a small, but well-kept room. Rather sparse decoration wise, with the most colourful items being a collection of books and folders on a shelf and Daphne's mask, which rested on top of the bookshelf. A large window let a steady stream of light into the room, which fell on a large black chair, in which Valtor was sitting with a book. His usually extravagant clothes had been exchanged with a set of white robes and the Dominian prince looked up to see who had arrived. A spark glimmered in his eyes as he greeted the redhead with: "Ah, glad you could make it... Bloom. Please, sit down."

"Good to see you too," the redhead tried, before sitting down.

There was an awkward pause.

"So..." Bloom slowly began. "How have things been around here?"

"Just fine, thank you very much," Valtor replied. "Everything going well outside? I still haven't earned unrestricted access to newspapers and television."

"That seems rather harsh."

"So does threatening people with a tornado," mumbled the dandy magi. "Do not worry, Sister. I am content with my stay and I trust that my therapist knows when I'll be ready. But back to my question. How have things been for you?"

"Relaxed, for once. Still worried about journalists finding out where I currently live. Techna offered to place landmines around Emanuela's summer home, but that's most likely illegal." She paused. "She might also have been kidding, but it's sometimes hard to tell."

"Techna? Ah yes, the charming ladette who blew a wall up in my face." He looked contemplative for a moment. "Well, back of my head if you want to be pedantic."

Bloom chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah. Also, I've been keeping up with my royal training with Avalon and dragonflame exercises with Maya."

"Good to hear," the dandy magi said approvingly. "I'd offer to give you some lessons myself, but I have neither earned spellcasting privilege nor managed to rid myself of the effects of the water star quite yet."

Bloom adjusted her shirt. Reminders of the two sibling's clashes made her feel slightly uncomfortable and she briefly wondered if the dandy magi was poking her intentionally. Yet he looked quite at peace and talked about it so matter-of-factly. Perhaps that just made it even weirder than if he had sounded bitter about it. "So anyway, you said you found something important?"

"Indeed." Valtor went over to the bookshelf and pulled out a folder. "After Domino fell to eternal winter, several teams were sent in to survey the area, locate survivors and attempt to dispel the curse. While the only survivors they found were animals and all attempts at undoing the curse failed, they did get a lot of info on Domino's current layout. This information has been updated a couple of times over the last decade. And while studying the reports, I noticed something the scouts had missed." He pointed at a strangely shaped mountaintop on the map. "This is the Library on the Roc."

"Library on the Rock?" Bloom questioned.

"Exactly. A mobile Coven base. It was from there I cast the ritual spell. However, in the post curse confusion, it was forgotten. I can recognise it because I was part of the Coven and had helped move it to Domino, but most people don't know of its existence."

"Alright then. A library," the redhead said. "How does that help with the curse?"

"There's no guarantee that it will," the dandy magi admitted. "But as I said, it's a library. Filled with documents and books bought, stolen and sometimes made by the Coven itself. I'm willing to bet that there's even info about the Obsidian Prison. And that could be key info in finding out how to undo the curse." He sighed. "But alas, I have yet to earn the privilege of leaving Lightrock. But I imagine you could figure out something to do with this. If nothing else, you probably have at least some contacts at this point that can be drawn upon. If I'm wrong about the library's content, that's fine. But it is worth a shot, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah," Bloom mumbled, as she traced the library's outline with her finger. "I guess it is."


	2. Mandragora

_AN: Sorry for the long wait. Last couple of months have been busy. But should have more time now. Hopefully._

Chapter 2: Mandragora

Techna squinted as she studied the map. "Looks like every other damn rock in the area if you ask me."  
"Probably intentional," Brandon commented. "If you want your mobile base to remain overlooked, you'd want it to be able to blend in."  
"Even so, the camouflage is masterfully done," Flora commented. "No wonder nobody noticed it. I imagine Valtor could only recognize it because he knew where they placed it."  
"I didn't ask, but that sounds likely," Bloom said. After visiting Valtor, she had quickly contacted her friends and arranged a meeting. Despite all the resources available to her as princess of Domino, she still trusted their counsel more than anything. She had even managed to get Sky to agree to show up, though he had yet to arrive at Faragonda's summer home.

"Question is, how exactly is it mobile?" Timmy said, as he pulled the map over to himself. The group was sitting outside on a picnic bench, the pre-noon sun bathing them with gentle warmth. "Teleportation, directed flight or something else? Magical, technological or both?"  
"Don't know. And neither does Valtor," Bloom said. "He told them where they should land it, but wasn't there when they actually moved in. Had to be seen elsewhere in case he needed an alibi. In fact, he was only there for the purpose of casting the rituals to envelop Domino in winter. There's no guarantee there will be anything."  
"Wait, didn't the Company of Light capture him after that second casting?" Musa asked. "How come they didn't know of the library?"

"Because they didn't catch him in the library. They caught him a short time after he had left it," Bloom clarified.

"And then the place has just been put on ice and forgotten for all these years," Riven noted, as he leaned over the table to better see the map. "Much like your brother was."

"Rude much?" Stella commented.

"Funny thing is, I think Valtor himself would have found that comment hilarious," Bloom dryly noted.

"Hey," the group heard somebody call and they turned their heads to see Sky jog up towards them. He briefly stopped, using his legs for support as he regained his breath. "Sorry I'm late," he wheezed, as he made his way to an empty spot at the table. "Something came up quite suddenly." There were bags under his eyes and his shirt was inside out.

"Are you... Okay?" Techna asked. "You kinda look like you've been steamrolled."  
"I honestly also kinda feel like that is the case," he mumbled. "Anyway, I'm here now. Did I miss anything?"  
"Only almost everything relevant about the case at hand," Riven commented. "But don't worry. With your fancy education, I'm sure you'll be able to figure things out from context alone."  
Sky looked like he was about the reply, before he sighed and said: "I don't even have the energy to argue."  
Riven raised an eyebrow. "Wow. That bad, huh?"

"Yep."  
"Sorry to hear that."  
"It's okay."

"So, like, what's going on? You've been, like, really hard to get a hold of lately," Stella inquired.

"I'm just going to try to avoid any potential awkwardness and say that I've been ordered by my father to not say anything to anyone," Sky replied. "So I cannot answer that question."  
"Is he marrying you off again?" Musa asked, almost causing Bloom to choke on the water she was drinking.

"What? No, no, it's not that," the blonde prince quickly replied, as he leaned over to pat the coughing redhead on her back. "It has absolutely nothing to do with marriage or anything of the sort. I'll be able to tell you all in a couple of weeks, alright?"  
"I'd also like to add that it's not something that should affect anyone negatively," Brandon commented. "So don't worry, it's just official rules making things complicated. It's not that we don't trust you, it's that there are several other people who don't trust you."

"Is it because of our non-involvement with the Eraklian royal family or because of our role as representatives of foreign governments?" Aisha inquired.  
"Both."  
"Ah, I see. I shall refrain from asking anything else."  
"Really? You're not the least bit curious?" Techna asked.

"It would be rude to try to pry such information from them."  
"That's not what I asked, Your Mayonnaise."

The brunette sighed. "I do wish you'd find something else as my nickname."  
"Get used to it," Musa mumbled. "I think the only one who's managed to convince Techna to drop a nickname was Griselda."  
"What can I say. She's one tough old battleaxe," the scarred girl replied with a cheeky smile.

"Anyway, to return to the subject at hand, what do we do with this information?" Timmy stated a bit loudly to gain everyone's attention. "Do we contact a team to organize an expedition or what?"

"Don't expect anything out of Eraklion for the next couple of weeks. We're kinda in lockdown," Sky mumbled. "Dear Dragon what I had to go through to be allowed to get here."

"And some of us don't have any resources other than ourselves," Musa commented.

"And I doubt my family would find any interest in this venture," Aisha said apologetically.

"What about you, Bloom?" Stella asked. "It's totally your kingdom."  
"Yes, but I have reason to doubt the level of respect most of the nobles have for me," the redhead grumbled. "Especially after the second time some of them tried to have Faragonda's guardianship cancelled. Luckily the courts were sensible enough to throw those cases out almost immediately, but still..."  
"Oh for fucks sake, let's just do it ourselves," Techna interrupted. "No more wishy-washy talk about maybe having some other people do it. We've been through worse, so let's just get the job done on our own."

Flora rubbed her chin. "Well, we have been to Domino before and it is just a library."  
"Yes, but a lot of things we've done were supposed to be just something simple," Musa remarked. "And it's never just simple."  
"True enough."

"Well, I agree that we should take a look at it ourselves," Riven said. "Check it out, see if it's legit. No reason to organize a big expedition if the whole thing has collapsed by now or something. If things get rough, we'll just retreat and then get some other people in on it."

"I suppose me bringing some friends in will be a lot easier for the nobles to swallow than having a foreign government send in troops and such," Bloom commented. "Though I doubt Faragonda will like this."

...

The Obsidian Prison was a cold and dark realm. A planet consisting only of jagged, black rocks underneath an eternal night sky. It was a planet devoid of life, its sun long ago snuffed out, leaving behind a dead wasteland. The only reason anything living could set foot on its surface was the oxygen creators that had long ago been set up by the Coven when they first started using the place. It had been a lucky find. Most new realms were found by homing in on the magic generated by the living, but the Coven managed to find the realm by searching for the faint echo of the life that once had been on it. And as it quickly became a good place to incarcerate people the Coven were interested in disappearing but didn't want dead, it soon earned its name.

A name which now came with much bitter irony.

In one valley was thousands upon thousands of people, all of them eternally frozen in time, kept in stasis ever since they had been plucked from Domino. All of the people that had been within the borders that day stood here, caught in the middle of their everyday life. And as the crowning part of this macabre collection stood the king and queen of Domino, weapon and magic ready to attack an enemy that no longer was there.

There was a ripple in the air and a person stepped through. She was a lean, tall woman, her pale skin slightly wrinkled. Messy black hair flowed from her head, streaks of grey permeating it.

Over her shoulder was slung an unconscious body. A teen who had come through the town the witch lived in. She had met him in a coffee shop. She easily got him to tell her why he was here. He had been nervous, which had made him eager to talk. He had run away from home. His parents had not approved of his lifestyle. The woman couldn't even remember what it was specifically they disapproved off. It hadn't mattered. What mattered was that he was alone, a magi and nobody in town knew him. She had let him leave the coffee shop. Waited an hour. Tracked him down.

He never saw her coming.

She had passed by the collection of Domino's people and stepped into a vale between three great obsidian hills, each one carved to resemble a face. When the Coven had been active, the Ancestral Witches would issue orders from here to their loyal followers. Now, all that remained were the dead. Withered, mummified corpses lay sprawled in the corners, discarded husks drained of life and energy.

"Ah, Mandragora," a voice whispered on the wind, and the lanky woman stopped. "You have returned to us."  
"My apologies for the delay, my mistresses," Mandragora said, as she kneeled. "I had difficulty finding a proper host."  
"You are forgiven," hissed the voice.

Three shapes emerged from over one of the hills. Two were widely different people. One was an elf, but her skin was dry and stretched across her limbs and her eyes were two black orbs. The other was a human woman. Like the elf her eyes were inky pools of darkness, but her body looked much healthier. Only her fingers had a papery, mummified look to them.

The third shape, however, was completely unlike the others, a dark, shadowy shape that wavered in the air, hungrily staring as Mandragora placed the youth in the middle of the valley, before pulling back with a respectful bow. The shadowy shape gave an echoing cackle, before slithering across the ground towards the unconscious body. It enveloped him and he started to groan, as if he somehow sensed that something was wrong. Then he went limp as the shadows seeped through his skin. All was still for a moment. Then his eyes opened, all colour in them gone, replaced only with an intense darkness.

Mandragora joyfully beheld the rebirth of her mistress.

"Very well," the teen muttered, as he rose up and stretched his body. "This will do. Now what news do you bring from the outside?"  
"I'm afraid I bring bad news. Valtor has been captured and sentenced to a stay Lightrock," the lanky witch reported.

The teen's mouth turned into a sneer. "Once again he disappoints us. I had expected more of him. And I would have expected them to send him back to Omega once again."  
"The Omega prison is being dismantled," Mandragora informed her mistress. "It is no longer in use."  
"Then we are at risk," the elf said, her voice slightly echoing. "Though Valtor was never a member of the inner circle, he was still given much information in order to allow us access to Phila. He might decide to divulge what he knows."  
"Then he must be eliminated," the human girl said. "Mandragora. We hereby charge you with killing Valtor, no matter the cost. The Obsidian Prison must not be discovered. Use whatever means you deem necessary to kill him. If there is the slightest risk he has talked, wipe Lightrock and everyone within off the map."  
"In fact, do that anyway," the teen boy said. "Leave no survivors. Remind the people that the Coven is still to be feared."  
"It shall be done," Mandragora respectfully said, bowing before returning to the portal she had created.

...

"It's cold," Riven remarked. The group had successfully managed to borrow an Eraklian vessel and fly it directly to Domino, landing not far from the supposed location of the library.

"My, my, you're ever so observant, aren't you?" Musa teasingly asked, as she rested her chin on his head.

"Yes, well, it is one of my many fine qualities," he remarked.

The others stepped out, all of them clad in thick clothes and protective helmets to protect themselves from the frosty realm of Domino.

"Now, according to the map, there still a bit of a way to the library, but there really was no good landing spot," Brandon announced. "So we'll be using aircycles to cover the last part of the journey. We've got four of them, so if we pair up two on one, then that means at least two of us will have to stay back."  
"How about I do that?" Timmy said. "I might not be the best pilot, but if need be, I can bring the ship up in a jiffy."

"I'd also like to stay behind," Aisha said. "I have little to offer that cannot be done by someone else in regards to a mission such as this."  
"Excellent suggestion, Timmy and Aisha. Let's go with that. Now then, everyone else pair up. And no crazy stunts or anything. I want us to reach that place hale and hearty."

"You know, technically we're not on duty now. So we don't actually have to follow your orders," Sky noted.

"Technically, they will never find your body," Brandon responded nonchalant, before walking over to assist with the aircycles.

There was a brief pause as Brandon's implied regicide hung in the air.

"So I notice Brandon uses a lot more death threats against you guys than anyone we've ever fought against," Aisha noted.

"We bring out the best in him," Riven replied with a grin.

It took but a few minutes to set everything up, before the group set off across the snowy terrain, following a frozen gorge that had once been a major road. The wind howled past them as they closed in on the great spire on which the library supposedly rested.

Sky enjoyed the feeling. After having been bogged down with paperwork, protocols and procedures, it was nice to just jump on an aircycle and rush off, especially with Bloom sitting right behind him. There was a simple joy to it that brought a smile to his face. As he raced around a corner, he looked to the side.

Riven was slightly overtaking him. The blond prince smirked and increased the speed just a little bit. The magenta-haired warrior did the same.

"Ehm, why are you accelerating?" Bloom asked.

"Well, we want to be there as fast as possible, don't we?"

"And it has nothing to do with Riven, has it?"  
Sky paused. "Define nothing."

The redhead sighed loudly. "Goddamn it, Sky."

"Hey, don't worry. I'm a pro, remember." The prince accelerated even more, as the group left the canyon behind.

"So, are we getting into another macho pissing contest?" Musa asked, as Riven did his best to overtake the prince.

"Just gotta remind his majesty that he can't get everything he wants," he replied.

"Spirits, would the two of you just get a room already so you can get it out of your system?" the black-haired musician exclaimed exasperated.

Suddenly, both aircycles slowed down and came to a halt.

"The fuck?" Riven asked, as he looked at the instruments. "I could have sworn I checked it before we left."  
"Hey, sorry 'bout that," Techna called, as she slowly flew by. "But there's someone who wants a chat with you."  
Brandon and Stella's aircycle flew in between the two duellists and halted. The squire himself just stared forward, his face hidden by his helmet. Then, slowly, almost mechanically, his head turned until he stared at Riven. Despite the obscuration of his face, the magenta-haired warrior could feel the death-glare he was being shot.

"I'll be good now," he promised, raising a hand to show that he meant it.

"Heh, brought to heel with one look," Sky commented.

With viper-like speed, Brandon whipped his head around, moving his penetrating glare to the blond prince.

Sky was quiet for a moment, before hastily adding: "Which is of course the smart thing to do and something I'll also do right now."

Brandon held his gaze for a moment before slowly returning his attention to the mountain, seconds before he jetted off.

"So, you're still alive," Bloom commented.

"Yeah, I think the visor took the brunt of the force," Sky commented. "Brandon's been taking lessons from Cordatorta."  
Riven drifted a bit closer, before commentating: "Good job provoking him. I can most definitely see that your eventual ascension to the throne won't usher your kingdom into an era of diplomatic disasters."

"Hey, a king has to be able to stand firm and not bend under the slightest pressure like a sponge," the crown prince fired back.  
"If the two of you do not stop right this instant, I'll make you both wish you just had to deal with Brandon," Musa hissed. "Now get moving."

Two minutes later, the group parked at the bottom of the mountain Valtor had directed them to, staring up at the snow-covered rocks far above.

"Doesn't seem like there's an easy way up," Stella noted, as she slid off Brandon's aircycle.

"Hey, Firetop. Your brother didn't happen to mention a secret elevator somewhere?" Techna inquired.

"No. Though now I am wondering how he did get up and down," the redhead replied.

"Okay, show of hands. How many of you girls have experience climbing mountains?" Brandon asked.  
"Does piles of unstable junk count?" Techna queried.

"No."  
"Oh. Then count me out."  
To nobody's surprise, Flora was the only one raising her hand.

"I'm starting to wonder if there was anything they didn't teach you back at Limphea," Bloom commented.

"I could probably mention a few things, but that would be rather pedantic," the brunette noted. "Anyway, despite my training, I would still like to remain down here. It would be advantageous if someone with survival training stay in case of an emergency."  
"One of those is bound to pop up sooner or later," Musa commented dryly.

"That's kinda pessimistic of you," Stella said.

"I like to call it pattern recognition."  
The Solarian princess pondered her answer for a moment, before shrugging, conceding that she did have a point.

"Well, with that established," Brandon said, as he unpacked some climbing gear. "Let's do this."

The climb up was hard. The frozen wind and snow covered rocks conspired against the ascending soldiers. Every step up had to be patiently calculated. Even with their enchanted bodysuits, a fall was likely to do considerable damage.

"Are we there yet?" Sky asked across the intercom.

"Almost," Brandon responded. "I see a sort of ledge. The edge of a structure I think. Once there, we should be able to..."  
The rocks shook. Loose pebbles and snow began sliding down.

"What was that?" Riven asked.

Suddenly, it was as if the entire side of the mountain detonated, sending a cloud of snow and dust into the air. A massive stony wing had unfurled. With the rumbling grinding of rock, part of the formation twisted and turned, until a massive, bird-like head had managed to see the three boys, its crystalline eye glowing ominously.

The three soldiers stared.

"Do you... Do you think it might want a cracker or something?" Sky nervously asked.

The massive construct turned its head again and with a mighty flap of its wings, rose up from the mountain it had rested on for over a decade. Brandon, Sky and Riven clung onto its legs, watching in shock and fear as the ground moved further and further away.

Down by the foot of the mountain, the girls had to immediately scatter as large rocks and waves of snow pelted the area.

"Well... The library just took off with my boyfriend," Stella noted, as she stared at the shrinking shape of the construct. "We should probably inform Timmy of this."  
"Oh. Now I get it," Bloom said in sudden realisation. "Library on the Roc, not on the rock."

"How does that sound even... Never mind that. We need to get back to the ship as fast as possible," Musa commented, as she jumped up on one of the aircycles.

Back on the fleeing library, the three soldiers still clung to the ridged shape of the stone bird's foot. The wind howled intensely as they were carried through the air.

"Well... This is a load of bogus," Sky commented. "Kidnapped by a building. That's a thing that just happened." He glanced at its head. "Do you think it's going to set us down at some point?"  
"Depends on the programming," Brandon noted. "It might in fact be trying to get away from us, in which case it won't land until we're either saved or we fall."  
"Stupid bird," Riven grumbled. "Think we can climb up to the library itself?"

"Feel free to try," the blond prince replied. "It keeps slightly swinging its legs. I'd rather stay here where we know we're safe." The whole construct shook a bit and the three of them tightened their grips. "Well... Relatively safe."

"At least it's not fast," Brandon mumbled. "With luck, Timmy and the others will catch up with us before long."  
They clung to the stony legs in silence for a couple of minutes.

"When you said before long, how long did you mean?" Riven asked. "Because my arms are starting to cramp."  
"And I'm really hoping the library has a bathroom," Sky added.

The brunette sighed. "Military professionalism, everybody." He turned his head, watching the landscape move beneath them. Then he glimpsed something through the clouds. "Looks like the wait is over. The cavalry has arrived."

"Oh, thank the Dragon," the crown-prince sighed. "My legs are about to fall asleep."

...

Inside the vessel, the girls and Timmy stared at the giant stone bird.

"How the fuck did Prettyboy manage to get somebody to sneak that thing unseen into your country?" Techna asked. "What, did everyone back then suffer from near-sightedness or something?"

"I have no idea," Bloom mumbled.

"Good news. I can see all three of them," Timmy commented, as he steered the craft closer. "They have yet to fall off."  
"Still, probably a good idea to get them off before they do," Musa said. "Can we have them jump onto the vessel or something?"

"Well, we could open the hangar door and pull them in," the bespectacled pilot offered. "Maybe Flora and Aisha could assist with that. Your powers seem good for grabbing people."

"I have got a couple of plants good for that, yes," Flora confirmed.

"Excellent. Then..." The great stone roc suddenly veered closer to the ship, flapping its mighty wings in an attempt to swat the vessel out of the sky. Timmy jerked at the controls to get away from the defensive construct. Once they had put some distance between them, the rocky bird turned and began flying away from the ship.

On the bird, Brandon released a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding. When the bird had decided to attack the ship away, holding on became that much more difficult. His muscles protested from the effort of clinging to the stony leg.

"Holy fuck, I thought that was going to be it for a second," Riven gasped. "You okay, Sky. Did that resolve the bathroom situation?"  
"You know, if you really want the express route down to the surface, you can just say so," Sky growled.

Back on the ship, Timmy began chewing on his lip. "If we fly too close, it'll just get aggressive again. And if that happens, well, we risk those three losing their grips."  
"Maybe we're, like, approaching this from the wrong way," Stella commented. "Like, how did the Coven get in without the library running off?"

"Maybe a signal of sort. Negative energy, perhaps," Flora mumbled.

"Could we trick it into thinking we're Coven members?" Aisha asked.

"Yeah, we did learn something about witch magic at Cloud Tower," Techna commented. "We should be able to pull it off."

"Worth a shot. I'll try to get us a bit closer," Timmy said, as he carefully shortened the distance between them and the great construct's, careful not to provoke it again. "Alright, not flying any closer. See if you can pull it off from here."

"Okay, so who goes first?" Musa asked. "I seem to remember Bloom being pretty good."  
"Not good, just a lot of emotional baggage," the redhead replied. "I think Flora understood the principles really well though."  
"True. But I have concerns that I might not have the energy necessary. It will probably not be convinced by my measly witchery," the brunette offered.

"Then let's do it together. With a fusion spell," Stella suggested. "If we combine our negative energy and, like, use Bloom as a battery, I'm sure we can convince that dumb rock that we're actually legit Coven members."

"That does sound like the wisest decision," Aisha agreed.

"Great. I get to be Duracell, hocus pocus edition," Bloom commented flatly. When she noticed the look the others gave her, she sighed and waved her hand with a: "Forget it. We've got bigger things to worry about."  
"Great. So if you're all in agreement, do you think you can do it now?" Timmy asked. "I don't like how things are looking for those three."  
The faeries nodded and formed a circle. They all closed their eyes and focused on what they had learned in Cloud Tower. Painful, sad and unhappy memories flooded through them and pooled together, empowered by Bloom's flame. And then they carefully directed the magic through the air, mingling it with the essence of the magical construct.

A twitch went through its stony head. Ancient enchantments frazzled by time sparked to life and tried to analyse the energy.

Everyone held their breath.

And then the great stony roc started descending towards a suitable mountaintop. As it did, the rocks on its back shifted, revealing the hidden library.

"I think that did it," Timmy said relieved. "It thought you were Coven members. I'm going to give it time to land and then I'll drop you girls off before finding a place to land myself."

...

Getting the girls off was easier said than done. The cold winds constantly pushed and shook the vessel, forcing Timmy to struggle to keep the craft in place. When they had all finally left the vessel, he darted off to find a place to land again, leaving the girls to investigate the building.

It was a large golden dome on top of a marble structure, richly decorated with pillars and statues of presumably witches. A set of large wooden doors kept people out. Around it was a wide platform, which the faeries now stood on, secured with a raised railing to prevent incidental falls down the mountain.

Leaning up against the building were the three soldiers, who had managed the last of the climb, now breathing heavily as they allowed their tired limbs to rest.

"You guys, like, okay?" Stella asked, as the girls approached them.

"That... Was such... Bogus," Sky commented, as he slowly got up again.

"I feel like... Like my arms are melting," Riven groaned.

"We'll survive. Just need a moment," Brandon said, as he tried to control his breathing. "Hopefully, the roc should stay pacified for some time."  
"And if it doesn't, we're close enough that we should be able to make it calm down again," Aisha offered.

"Good to hear." The squire forced himself up. "Let's get inside and see what we can find. Sky, Riven. You two patrol the perimeter. I don't want any surprises sneaking up on us."  
"Will do, Captain," Riven said, as he and the blond prince got up.

"And girls. Stay behind me for now," Brandon advised, as he walked up to the doors. "I'm the one with the body armour after all." He inspected the wooden surface for a second, before giving the handle a tuck. It slowly slid open with a rusty creaking, revealing the interior of the building. "Unlocked. I guess Valtor left in a hurry."

Slowly, the group entered. The structure consisted of a single round room, which was almost entirely covered in ornate bookshelves, all of them filled to the brim with tomes of various sorts. A large and round wooden table stood in the middle, a couple of open books and scrolls carelessly discarded upon it.

Stella whistled as she beheld the room. "Totally impressive looking. And I'm, like, surprised it managed to stay like this despite the roc flipping out."

"I imagine there are enchantments in place to prevent such accidents," Flora noted. "It would not make much sense to have a mobile library if every move resulted in a massive clean-up."

"Got a point there, Flowergirl," Techna agreed. "Now, where's the thingy we're looking for? Under E for evil plots?"

"Unlikely," Brandon commented, as he inspected the books and papers on the table. "Ritual magic notes and instructions. I think Valtor was using these." He picked up a scroll and started reading. "Encoded. But of course. Anyway, try looking around, but be careful. There may still be more traps hidden somewhere."

"Where to even start?" Aisha commented, as she looked around. "I wonder if they have an index somewhere."

"Doesn't look like it," Bloom said, as she started inspecting the books. "Maybe if we can figure out what sorting system they used, that would help."

Dozens of minutes ticked by, as the girls slowly sorted through the great collection, slowly getting an overview of how the Coven library was designed.

Finally, after having spent almost two hours in the building, Stella exclaimed: "Hey, I found something."  
"Thank fuck," Techna groaned from the inside of a book fort. "I was about to fall asleep."

Musa slight twitched and got up from the chair she had been dozing off in. She groaned and stretched, her shoulders creaking audibly. "What does it say?"  
"Apparently, the Obsidian Prison is on a planet that the Coven discovered," the Solarian princess explained, her eyes scanning the notebook. "Most would just use a ritual to get there, not that the page says what it is. But apparently they also installed a backdoor, just in case." She frowned. "But I think the location is kinda, sorta encrypted."

"Figures," Flora commented. "Brandon, you have code breakers at Red Fountain, right?"  
"We have some, yeah. And we can easily bring in more if necessary," the squire noted, as he took the notebook from Stella. "I doubt we'll find more than that, but I'll get another team send out here to clean the place none the less. For now, I think we've..."  
"BRANDON! BRANDON!" they heard Sky yell and they all turned to see the blonde drag Riven inside, the magenta-haired warrior mumbling and barely conscious.

"What happened?" the team captain asked, as he and the others rushed over.

"No clue. We split up to cover as much of the platform as possible. Then suddenly he was stumbling around like a drunk and mumbling nonsense." He corrected his posture as Musa and Flora took over carrying the lethargic soldier. "I noticed he has a rather large welt on the back of his neck though. Might be related."  
"Looks like he was bitten by a large bug," Musa noted.

"Strange. Domino does not exactly have an insect-friendly climate," Flora noted. "I doubt it was an accident."

"I don't think so either," Brandon mumbled. "Maybe a trap of sorts. Anyway, let's get back to the vessel. The sooner we can get him to a doctor, the better."

As they dragged him outside, they found to their surprise that Timmy was already floating there. "Guys," he started, using the vessel's loudspeaker. "I just caught an emergency signal sent to all Red Fountain units."

...

Valtor closed the book and walked over to the shelf to put it back in its place. Without television, internet, magic or even the ability to leave his apartment whenever he wanted, there was only so much the magi could do to spend his time. By now, he had read all of his books at least twice. But until he got set up with a therapist, and they had yet to find one that clicked with him, they couldn't be certain giving him these privileges would be for the better. It annoyed him at times, but all he had to do was take a look at the butterfly mask on top of his shelf to remind himself that it was for the best. He was at Lightrock for a reason and he couldn't honestly claim that he hadn't earned his place here.

He sat back down in his comfortable chair, considering what to do next. He could take another bath, take a nap or maybe go stare wistfully out the window at the gardens for an hour or two. His brows furrowed as he thought he heard noise in the distance. He had become very accustomed to the rhythm of Lightrock and he could definitely tell something was wrong.

He got up from his chair and looked out the window, trying to discern what the problem was.

He concluded that the giant beetle-esque creature with the extra-long neck charging through the air at him was probably part of the problem.

While neither as fast or as strong as when he had access to his dragonflame, seeing a giant monster beelining for him caused him to, almost automatically, leap backwards and vault over his chair. Bricks, wood and glass exploded into the apartment as the monstrosity charged through and began snapping its mouth at him, trying to force its armoured body into the tiny apartment.

Thinking fast, the dandy magi grabbed the heavy bookshelf and tipped it, causing it and its collection of books to pin the beast's head to the floor. Stopping only to grab his sister's mask, Valtor ran over both the fallen shelf and the creature's back, jumping out of the ruined wall and landing on the soft grass outside.

Taking a moment to appreciate living on the ground floor, he gazed around the area. Everywhere, the scene was the same. Giant insect creatures of various shapes were engaging the staff and occasionally the patients of Lightrock in bloody battle.

He briefly pondered where to go, but as he heard the sounds of the insect assailant extracting itself from the bookshelf, he concluded that anywhere else was preferable and ran as fast as he could across the plains.

He threw a glance over his shoulder, watching as the great insect tore itself free from the shelf and immediately began searching the area. The moment it noticed his fleeing form, its wings started flapping with an audible buzzing, as the big creature began its pursuit.

"A giant newspaper would come in handy right about now," Valtor mumbled to himself. "Maybe I could call up that Techna girl. She'll probably have something."

He threw another glance over his shoulder. The creature was quickly closing in, dead set on getting to the magi.

"WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?!" Valtor yelled at it, as it got ever closer to him. "I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING FOR YOU! GO BUG SOMEBODY ELSE!" He suddenly jumped to the side, leaping through the doors to the cafeteria. The pursuing insect had to break and turn, giving the magi several precious seconds to get ahead.

He vaulted over several tables and jumped over the counter, finding himself in the kitchen. He rounded a corner, looking for a weapon of some sort, but stopped when he noticed he wasn't alone.

Another bug, this one looking like a giant centipede, was busy tearing through the corpse of one of the kitchen staff, her glassy, dead eyes staring at the ceiling. The great beast noticed the sorcerer's presence and turned its head. And then it leapt forward, its bloody mandibles clicking madly.

Valtor stumbled back into a table and barely managed to keep the beast at bay by pushing its head back with his feet. As he struggled to deal with the creature, the insectile fiend he had originally fled from snuck up upon him and took the opportunity to attack him, its mandibles clamping onto his arms. Valtor gave a yell of pain as the thing attempted to shear its way through his muscle and bone. With his free arm, he reached out and grabbed a knife, before plunging it into the monster's eye. The creature immediately let go and jerked back, releasing Valtor in the process.

The dandy magi didn't waste the moment, pushing forward and running across the head and body of the centipede monstrosity.

As he ran through the kitchen, a worrisome amount of blood pouring from his wounded arm, he heard the clattering of the centipede as it reoriented itself and began pursuit.

He smashed shoulder first through a door and made his way into a hallway, running as fast as he could.

Suddenly, a squad of Lightrock guards with heavy weaponry was before him. They took a moment to stare at each other. Then Valtor leapt to the side and pressed himself against the wall, giving the guards a full view of the incoming insect monster. Immediately, they raised their weapons and fired, pouring dozens of bullets into the beast. It responded by curling up, its iron hard carapace protecting it from most of the bullets.

Meanwhile, Valtor slowly inched along the wall until he was behind the guards.

"Get moving," one of them ordered. "We'll keep them at bay. Get to the hangar."  
"Hangar. Understood," Valtor replied, as he dashed off. If he was being sent to the hangar, they were probably evacuating. And if they were evacuating, it meant what was going on was big and that Lightrock had to call in the big guns. And if they called in the big guns, that would mean that collateral damage would become a lot harder to avoid. And that meant he would be in grave danger if he stayed. Not that he could blame them, since the entire place had suddenly been infested with giant man-eating bugs.

He dashed out through a set of double doors and jumped down a short staircase, landing on a gravel road. He took a short moment to focus, before running again, trying to stem the bleeding from his arm by clamping down on the wound with his free hand.

Suddenly, he was launched off his feet as something painfully pierced his shoulder. He stared at the ground as he flew forward, before landing face first and grinding along the road for a bit.

With a dull, throbbing pain spreading in his body, he turned his head to see was had happened. A massive, spear-like stinger protruded from his body.

"Ouch," he hoarsely mumbled, as he weakly tried to get up.

He heard a whistling sound and managed to push himself to the side, just as another stinger buried itself in the ground where his head had just been. He landed on his back and beheld his attackers.

In the air hovered two wasp-like creatures, their abdomens pulsating as they prepared more stingers to launch. And on the ground between them stood a figure, every part of it concealed under a thick, billowing layer of bugs.

Still, the guise was familiar enough to the sorcerer that he recognised his attacker. "Hello again, Mandragora. It's been a while. Look, if you're attempting to bust me out, not only are you doing it wrong, I'm also rather fond of my new apartment."

"Silence," Mandragora hissed beneath her swarming armour. "Your failures have marked you for death, Valtor. And I shall be your executioner."  
"What? Why?" the dandy-sorcerer asked. "Is this about the ritual? Because I did everything I was told to. It was the three Ancestral Witches who suddenly decided to vanish. Or is it because I got my posterior soundly kicked by my little sister and her team? Because if so, I don't have a clue how that relates to you."

"You know too much and have gotten too friendly with these people. The Coven will not tolerate you handing out their secrets, Valtor." The two wasps pointed their stingers menacingly at the prone sorcerer.

"Wow, hey, ehm, how about we talk about this? Doesn't the Coven have an appeal court or something?" Valtor questioned.

"Your mouth shall not save you this time. Now die like the wretch you are."  
A loud bang rang out and both insects fell to the ground as their heads detonated.

"Two with one shot. Nice," Techna said approvingly, while Timmy lowered his rifle.

Mandragora turned to face the group. "Wretched interlopers. You will not defy the will of the Coven."  
"Oh I think we will," Musa commented, readying her fans.

Mandragora sent out an order through her magic and seconds later, the earth around the group exploded, as four more of the centipede monsters burst forth to attack. One lounged forward, only to have its bite blocked by Sky's shield. As he struggled to hold the beast back, Flora made her move and brought her enchanted machete down on its neck, decapitating it.

While this was happening, another was continuously trying to snap at Techna and Timmy.

"Swear I'm going to invent the world's biggest newspaper and then whup you with it," the scarred girl threatened, as she evaded another snap from its mandibles. The thing was bleeding fluids from a couple of holes Timmy had managed to shoot in it, though it had only served to enrage the giant bug. As it prepared to strike again, a massive bubble of water suddenly engulfed its head and smashed it into a tree.

"I'll hold it still. Shoot it," Aisha called, as she struggled to keep the creature trapped.

Timmy acted quickly, raising his rifle. With the monster now immobile, he quickly lined up a shot and fired, the bullet piercing the creature's head.

"This darn thing is too well-armoured," Stella complained, as the third centipede went for her and Musa.

"Couldn't you try to roast it or something?" Musa asked, as she twirled out of range of the creature's attack. "Like you said you did with that water thing."  
"I could, but I'd, like, props hit the others."  
"Then I guess I'll have to soften it up. Try to distract it."

Stella harrumphed a bit, but began waving her staff around, the top of it blinking sharply. The centipede monster shifted its attention to her, chasing the princess around a tree. As she rounded it, the blonde noticed that Musa had pulled out a flute and dodged to the side. A massive shockwave was blasted from the instrument and hit the unprepared beast square in the face. Its exoskeletal armour cracked and fluids burst from the rifts. It collapsed on the grass, writhing in pain and agony. Stella winced and fired a strong laser blast through a hole in its armour, ending the being's misery.

Elsewhere, Bloom and Brandon were trading blows with the remaining monster.

"Bloom. Where did those two go?" Brandon asked, as he noted the disappearance of Valtor and his assailant.

"I didn't see. Too busy keeping this thing at bay," Bloom responded, hitting the monster with a fireball.

"Then go help him. He looked wounded." The squire smacked the beast's head to the side with his blade, as it tried to attack again. "Don't worry about me. I'm not going to die to an overgrown bug."  
"Alright. Good luck," the redhead responded, as she dashed off.

Elsewhere, Valtor leaned up against a tree, trying to catch his breath. He didn't feel good running off, but he acknowledged that he had nothing to offer except getting in the way. It was much better that he tried to put some distance between him and Mandragora, lest she try to use him against the others or something.

He took another deep breath and looked at Daphne's mask. It brought him some comfort to see that he had managed to keep hold of it through the carnage.

A buzzing sound caught his attention and he looked up. A couple of flies were hanging in the air, staring at him.

The dandy magi groaned and leapt away from the tree, right before it was cut through. As half the tree toppled to the ground, Mandragora stepped around it, her arm shaped into a super sharp mantis leg. "Accept your fate, Valtor."  
"Never been good at that," he replied, as he forced himself on his feet again. "I'm stubborn you know."

"We'll see how your famous powers stand up to being devoured by a thousand mouths," Mandragora threatened as she closed in on him.

"Dear Dragon, do you get off on being constantly creepy?" Valtor asked annoyed. "And you accuse me of running _my_ mouth."  
"SILENCE!" Mandragora ordered, as she raised her sharpened appendage. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

"HEY! STOP RIGHT THERE!" Bloom yelled.

Mandragora turned to face the redhead. As she did, Valtor glanced at his sister. Recognising the glow in her eyes for what it was, he wisely decided that getting away from Mandragora was probably a healthy decision.

The insect-covered witch turned around again as the dandy magi dashed away as fast as he could. "YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE!" she bellowed, as she raised her arm.

And then Bloom fired. An intense ray of flames washed over the witch, several trees and much of the grass around her turning to ash.

As the attack stopped, Mandragora stumbled back, her insectile armour falling off in clumps of dead bugs. Even then it hadn't fully protected her. Her clothes where heavily singed and parts of her skin had burn marks.

"You... You're her," she gasped, before her shock turned to rage. "You will pay for your insolence. I will..."

"I believe this is yours," Valtor commented, before jamming the needle from his shoulder into Mandragora's back.

The witch howled in pain and stumbled forward, moments before her entire body exploded into a cloud of buzzing insects, which disappeared into the sky.

"Are you okay?" Bloom asked worried, as she ran over to Valtor.

"No. But I'm alive, so I won't complain." The sorcerer stared into the sky. "Shame we didn't finish her off. She'll be back, mark my words."  
"I thought of using a bit more power, but I was afraid of hitting you," the redhead admitted.

"Then I thank you for your concern," Valtor said gratefully. "Let's join up with the others. I could really use some medical aid."

By the time Valtor had gotten himself bandaged and healed, calm was returning to Lightrock, even if clean-up would take a while. The dead were being ferried out and the surviving patients were currently being relocated until the place could be fixed. In the meantime, aid from Red Fountain and Pixie Village had shown up, plus some staff members from both Cloud Tower and Alfea. Which included Faragonda and Griffin.

"And you're sure it was her?" the headmistress of Alfea asked Valtor.

"Yes. She's not a woman you just forget." The dandy magi rubbed his wounded shoulder. "She has a way of leaving an impact on people."

"But what could she possibly hope to gain by coming out of hiding like this?" Griffin asked incredulously. "Assaulting Lightrock of all places will only bring more attention to herself."  
"True. But if she killed everyone, no one would have paid particular attention to my beautiful corpse," Valtor replied. "Every time one of those insect things saw me, they dropped whatever they were doing and tried their best to eviscerate me. And from her own words, it was clear that she was just here to get me."

"Could she have figured out that you've been sharing information?" Faragonda inquired.

"I suspect as much, but it might also have been a precautionary move. Honestly, the woman is unhinged enough to pull something like that." He sighed. "I'm probably going to request being moved somewhere else than the other patients. I do not want any more of them to die just because I've made some poor life choices."  
"In the meantime, a full-scale manhunt has been initiated," Faragonda mentioned.

"That won't help if she goes off to the Obsidian Prison to hide," Griffin added. "No one knows how to get there."  
"Wait, we actually may have found something in the library," Bloom suddenly mentioned, retrieving the book from her backpack. "It's encrypted though. Can either of you help with that?"  
The headmistress of Cloud Tower flipped through the pages. "I'm afraid not. The Coven invented several coded languages to protect information. I knew two of the lower ranking ones."

"I knew one of the higher ones, for the purpose of reading the ritual instructions," Valtor said. "Perhaps I could do it." He received the book and scanned the pages. "This is just so typical," he mumbled. "Yes, I can in fact read it, but the words themselves are also encrypted with symbolic reference and math. I'll need time and probably some help if I'm to decode anything before the end of the year."  
"Then perhaps we can arrange having him moved to Red Fountain?" Faragonda suggested. "He would be a lot safer there and he could work with the school's own code breakers."

"If the Roccalucian Order and Saladin are both willing," Griffin commented. "But you should probably expect to end up under heavy guard."  
Valtor let his glance wander across the battlefield. "Trust me, right now, that's more of a comfort than anything else."

...

Mandragora lay on her knees on the obsidian floor, her forehead touching its cool surface. She had been laying like that ever since she had returned and reported her failure to the Ancestral Witches. She had expected to be executed for her failings. In fact, the only reason she had fled was that she would rather be obliterated by her mistresses than suffer the indignity of death by the hands of her sworn enemies. The fact that the trio had yet to do it did not bother her. If they decided to drag out the proceedings or come up with a fitting execution for her, then that was fine.

"Rise, Mandragora," came the raspy voice of the most withered body.

The minion did as commanded.

"Your failure today is not completely inexcusable," the one she had recently provided a body for said. "The princess and her group's ability to respond to and arrive as quickly as they did could not have been predicted. Furthermore, we were too late to stop Valtor from giving out information anyway. But now that he remains alive, he will most likely find the location of the Obsidian Portal and by extension, the Obsidian Prison."

"Then what am I to do about it, my mistresses?" Mandragora inquired.

"There is only one way for them to come to us," the last Ancestral Witch gravely intoned. "You are to gather the remains of your creatures and guard it. If the princess of Domino comes, bring her to us and slay anyone else that dares set foot here. Only by doing this will you have fully redeemed yourself in our eyes."

"It shall be as you demand, my mistresses," the loyal witch said, as she bowed before them.

 _Not fic related AN: So I and a few of my friends are considering a new project and I'd like to hear all of our followers' opinions. Check my youtube page(Link in my profile) if you're interested in hearing more._


	3. Fires of Domino

Chapter 3: Fires of Domino

"Are you certain?" Hagen asked, thoroughly surprised.

"Absolutely," Valtor responded.

The dandy mage had been sequestered in Red Fountain for over a week, working hard on untangling the code used by the Coven. And when he had cracked it, he hadn't wasted any time getting everybody from Hagen to Aisha called in.

"Hoggar," the smith echoed, still somewhat in a daze. "Those despicable witches set up a back door somewhere in Hoggar and we never even noticed? Let me see those coordinates."  
Valtor handed the paper over.

"This... It's barely a day's journey from my hometown. I'd almost be able to see it on a sunny day, were it not for the mountains."  
"Hey, isn't Hoggar one of the countries here on Magix?" Bloom asked.

"It is. Centred on the Hoggar mountains, so named for the explorer who found them," Hagen exposited. "Rich in minerals of all sorts and has become home for many smiths and artificers. I myself direct a school up there."  
"But Hoggar is also known for its frequent rain and thunderstorms," Griffin added. "And the mountains are hard to navigate. It would be easy to hide a portal there, even if it's not been camouflaged. And I suspect it has."

"So that should, like, be where all those people from Domino were taken, right?" Stella asked.

"Indeed," Valtor confirmed.

"Then there's no way around it," Bloom said determinedly. "We have to go there as soon as possible and free them." She immediately turned towards Faragonda. "And I know it might be dangerous, but I have a responsibility for my people."  
The headmistress, who had been about to say something, sighed and visibly deflated. "I know. I can't stop you." She shook her head. "Unfortunately, neither I nor Griffin can join you. We have already promised to aid in combing through the area for any signs of Mandragora or her monsters."  
"She herself will most likely be in the Prison," Valtor noted.

"In that case, I shall join you," Hagen declared. "And let's bring some soldiers from Red Fountain too. That should be enough of an escort to keep us safe."  
"Trust me. It's never that simple," Griffin commented. "As you should remember from back in the day."  
"Eh, doesn't hurt to at least _try_ to be prepared."

"Well, in that case we could always bring the boys," Musa added. "Especially now that Riven is back in action. We've become pretty good at cooperating after all the shit we've been through."  
"Don't remind me," Emanuela sighed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go get some tea."

As she left, Valtor continued with: "One more thing. The gate is locked, magically so. And unlike the roc, the spells there probably haven't deteriorated."  
"Yeah, on that note, couldn't you, like, have mentioned that darn bird?" Stella asked slightly annoyed.

"Ah, yes. My apologies, but I actually didn't know it would try to flee," the Dominian prince replied. "They must have ordered it to let me in, back in the day."

"Eh, whatever. It was fun," Techna said. "But if we can't do that thing we did yet again, then what do we do?"  
Aisha rubbed her chin. "How about that pixie? Didn't she have the power to open locks or something like that?"  
"Oh yeah, like, she used it back when we had to deal with Darkar," Stella suddenly said. "She might be able to unlock the gate."  
"And if we bring her, the rest of the pixie gang are probably going to come along," Musa said, rolling her eyes. "I think we're bringing enough people on this mission."

"Well, with that settled, I'll wish you the best of luck," Valtor said. "In the meantime, I guess I'll just stay here. Hopefully, Red Fountain will be better capable of withstanding such an invasion on account of being a flying building."  
"Yeah. Else you'll have to hope I can finish that giant newspaper you talked about," Techna said as the group began leaving.

"See you later," Bloom said and waved.

"See you around... Bloom," Valtor replied, before turning back to the table. He eyed the butterfly mask on the shelf. "Well, I've done what I can. Let's just hope they can figure out the rest." He stared at the mask, a frown slowly manifesting on his face. "And yet I must confess to you that... I'm worried. I think they should be able to handle Mandragora if she shows her face but... Something about this bugs me." He chuckled slightly. "Pun not intended. I don't know, I just wish I could do more." He leaned on the table with his elbows. "Or what do you think? Could I have done more?" He raised an eyebrow. "Should I have done more? My last attempt at helping resulted in three boys getting kidnapped by a flying building. And before that I managed to wreck the entire area with a quartet of natural disasters. Maybe it's just for the best if I sit this one out." The nagging feeling continued inside his head as he focused on the mask. "Or what? What would you do if you were in my shoes, Sister?"

"Ehm, who are you talking to?" a Red Fountain guard asked, as he looked inside the room.

"Either myself or my dead sister," the dandy magi responded. "Not entirely sure which, but it's helping me figure stuff out."  
"Oh. Well, good for you, man."

...

It was hard to see the traces of the tragedy that had befallen Pixie Village over a year ago. The diminutive creatures had seemingly managed to easily pick up the pieces and move on. Bloom found it very admirable, which was also why she was so happy that Valtor's four disasters hadn't accidentally hit the semi-hidden village. And finding Glim and her friends had been rather easy, since the arrival of that many important guests caused more or less the entire town to show up to greet them.

"You girls seriously need some better hobbies," Amore admonished. "Otherwise, people might start getting ideas."  
"Ideas?" Stella asked.

Amore spun around, suddenly clad in a gimp suit. "Oh yes, let's get ourselves into danger again. I so want another power crazed lunatic to spank me with a spell." She twirled around, now clad in her own dress again. "I mean, you've barely gotten done with Valtor."  
"Please don't put such images in my head," Bloom said, her entire face scrunching up.

"Accusations of autassassinophilia aside, what exactly is the plan?" Tune inquired.

"Well, get Glim here to open the portal basically," Brandon replied. "Unless of course her power is limited to physical doors and not magical portals."  
"Is not," the taciturn pixie grunted. "Can do."

"Okay. Can I presume that also means you will?"  
Glim nodded.

"And of course, we're coming too," Piff added enthusiastically. "Oh, I need to make a heroic cheering song for this. Who are we up against?"  
"A Coven lunatic who goes by Mandragora?" Sky said. He glanced at Riven. "Itchy?"  
"It's this damn sting," the magenta-haired soldier responded annoyed, as he scratched the swollen bump on his neck. "Keeps bugging me. Doctor said I probably had an allergic reaction to it." He noticed his comrades' worried glances. "Don't worry, he said I was fine."

"What did you get bit by?" Tune inquired, as she flittered up and inspected the lump.

"Annoying thing is, I dunno. Something that could survive in Domino apparently," Riven replied. "Whatever it was, it had it out for me."

"That aside, it sounds like we've reached an accord," Hagen declared. "With the pixies joining us, we should have a final team."  
"Yay. We're going to invade another evil domain," Piff expelled exuberantly.

"Yes, because that didn't almost go horribly wrong last time," Amore added dryly, wearing a t-shirt with a bullseye motif. "So where is this portal?"  
"In an isolated mountain valley in Hoggar," the blacksmith replied. "You should probably bring some waterproof clothes."

...

"I'd like to see the sun again at some point," Stella grumbled as she stared out of the window of the Red Fountain owl. "Would be nice."  
"What? You're not letting a little rain bother you are you?" Sky teased from his position behind the wheel.

"No, I don't let a little rain bother me," the blonde sharply responded. "But it's been pouring like a broken faucet for three straight hours."  
"That's Hoggar for you," Hagen commented jovially. "Weather's like this two thirds of the year."  
"Dearest Solaris, I'd go nuts before the month was over," Stella groaned. "So, what, you have sunshine the rest of the year then?"  
"No. The last third of the year it's snowing."

The Solarian princess groaned and slumped into a chair.

"Shame they didn't choose a named valley for their portal," Riven remarked. "Otherwise, we might not have to float around and search every single frickin' nook and cranny."  
"Well, unless Valtor completely flunked at geography, it should be around here. Somewhere," Brandon commented. "Besides, it makes sense they'd choose an isolated area like this."  
"Indeed. The Coven were many things, but stupid wasn't one of them," Hagen murmured.

"Maybe not. But prone to hunting flies with mallets," the Solarian princess noted, as she checked her nails. "Seriously, that attack on Lightrock was so unnecessary."

"Well, from a strategic... Huh," Riven noted, as he narrowed his eyes while staring at his screen. "Hey, guys, I think we found something."

"Timmy, activate the scanner. Full power," Brandon ordered. "The portal might have a very weak signature when unopened."  
A few minutes passed in tense silence as the machinery hummed.

"I think this is it," the magenta-haired warrior finally stated.

"Yeah. Signature is barely readable, but it is there," Timmy added.

"Excellent. Sky. Take us down," Brandon commanded.

"You know, seeing you dish out orders and such really adds to your charm," Stella noted with a flirtatious smile.

"Good thing for you that with these guys, there'll never be a shortage of opportunities for me to tell them what to do," the squire replied.

"Yeah, that's right. Swing the whip over us so your girlfriend can get off on it," Sky mumbled.

"What was that?"  
"Nothing."  
Riven emulated the sound of a whip crack.

...

The valley itself was a dark and dreary crack in the mountainside, with no real way into it. There was some vegetation, mostly shrubbery, moss, some hardy grass and a few patches of stubborn bushes. The rain continued to pelt the group from the sky, only kept at bay by a water repelling spell kept up by Aisha.

"Why are mountains always so cold," Stella complained, as she rubbed her bare arms. "I should have brought a jacket."

"Yeah. You should," Musa said unsympathetically. "But at least Aisha keeps you from being drenched."  
"Hurrah for Aisha! Bestest of umbrellas!" Piff exclaimed with her usual enthusiasm.

The princess of Tides looked contemplative for a moment. "Well, a compliment is a compliment. Thank you, Piff."

"No problem."  
The group continued their journey through the dark valley. At the end was a large, black circle of obsidian.

"Subtle," Bloom commented dryly. "I think that's the gate."  
"Sensors agree. That is definitely an inactive gate," Timmy added, as he looked on the screen of a small handheld device.

"Alright then. Glim, your turn," Brandon said, as he turned to the redheaded pixie.

"'Kay," she replied and flittered over to a large boulder. She landed on it and closed her eyes in deep concentration. The others could feel the magic slowly building up. Tension seized the atmosphere, as they wondered if she would be capable of overcoming the Coven's spells.

The diminutive humanoid groaned as she strained, her magic surging against the protections that held the gate shut.

And then, finally, it gave in. A hole in the fabric of reality widened, showing the group the black wastes of the Obsidian Prison.

"Good job, Glim," Flora noted approvingly.

"Thanks," the strained pixie grunted. "Now get through. Hard to hold open."

"Alright, let's do this," Hagen said and took a step forward.

"Not so fast!" called a voice.

The group turned around to face their challenger. On top of a nearby piece of rock jutting out from the mountainside stood Mandragora. "You cretins have not been allowed to set foot in the sanctuary of the Coven. You are not worthy."  
"It's your fucking Coven that's not worthy!" Techna yelled back. "Going around, deep freezing countries, attacking handicapped people with giant bugs! You're all out of your fucking minds, you know that right?!"

"Silence your tongue," Mandragora demanded. "For your transgressions, you shall feed my army."  
The rock and earth around her cracked as dozens of large insects broke out of the ground. From up above, giant bugs began descending.

"Again with the giant creepy crawlies," Musa groaned. "Great."  
"Keep formation," Brandon ordered. "Be careful or..."  
The ground beneath the group cracked open, as several large centipede-like creatures burst out, swinging their snapping mandibles back and forth.

"Oh no. Oh no," Aisha gasped as she desperately jumped out of the way, breaking her spell. Instantly the group was soaked by the torrent.

More and more bugs poured out of the hole, cutting the Red Fountain soldiers and pixies off from the faeries.

One of Bloom's fireballs detonated the front half of a beetle, as her friends lay into the advancing hordes with their spells. Despite this, they were constantly pushed back until they were forced to step through the portal.

Mandragora, from her position atop of her rock, smirked as she saw the development and focused.

"Dammit, we can't get to them," Sky yelled, as besides him Hagen charged into the insects with an enchanted maul. "We have to break through. Glim, can you... RIVEN!"

The redheaded pixie looked up, just in time to see Riven's hand, as its backside smacked into her, launching her off the rock and straight into a bush. Instantly, the portal closed itself, cutting the two groups off from one another.

There was a moment were everyone stopped to stare at Riven. He turned around, his eyes glassy and his face neutral, as he raised his sabre.

"The bite," Timmy realised. "BRANDON! SHE'S CONTROLLING HIM!"  
"I FIGURED AS MUCH!" the team captain yelled, as his friend and the remaining bugs began advancing again.

...

"What... What happened?" Stella asked confused, as she stared at the spot where the portal had been. "Did Riven...?"  
"There's no way he did that without being forced in some way," Musa insisted resolutely. "No way would he join the Coven willingly."  
"I agree with that assessment," Flora stated. "But be that as it may, the situation is still problematic. We have no way of going back to assist them."  
"Maybe there's a way to reopen the portal from here," Bloom suggested. "You know, like an emergency exit."

"Sounds like an idea." The brunette turned around to scout the area. "Now then, let us try to..." She paused, her eyes widening. "Oh dears."  
"Well... Fuck, that's just creepy," Techna quietly added.

In front of them was a large field of people, each individual a frozen statue. Some looked like they were in the middle of everyday life, while others looked like they had been in a decidedly more hectic situation.

"Endless Ocean," Aisha gasped, holding her hands over her mouth in shock. "Are... Are those...?"  
"The people of Domino. Yeah. I think so," Bloom said, as she slowly crept closer. "Are they... Dead?"  
"No. Looks more like stasis to me," Stella speculated. "Or what do you two think?" she asked, turning to Musa and Flora.

"I think you're right," Musa said. "Look, they even arranged for little paths in between them."  
"No doubt so that they can admire their collection," Flora mumbled darkly.

"That dude looks like he got snatched up while he was in the shower," Techna added. "I feel like that should be really hilarious, but honestly, it's just all kinds of fucked up."  
"Valtor's plan was always for them to be here for a couple of hours at most," Bloom noted, as the group began wandering through the fields. "Instead, they've been here for... Well, over a decade by now." She let her gaze wander. "Do you think there's any sort of system to this?"  
"Not really. Closest thing to a system is those two up there having been placed in the middle," Stella noted. She squinted. "Wait. Is that...? Oh gosh." She suddenly stopped, causing the group to halt.

"What is it?" Aisha asked.  
"Ehm... Well," the blonde struggled. "Oh Solaris, there really isn't any gentle way to put this." She took a deep breath. "Those two up there. That's the king and queen of Domino. That is your parents, Bloom."

The redhead turned around and stared at the couple. Slowly, she walked closer, as if she feared hurrying would ruin the moment.

One was a middle-aged man with brown hair, clad in armour and a red cape. In his hands he held a sword, which had a golden hilt with a draconic design.

The other was a woman. She wore light but protective clothes in pastel colours, her red hair set up so that it would be hard to grasp.

Both of them had signs of having gone through a significant struggle. Small wounds, bruises and splotches of dirt marred their uniforms. And their faces were frozen in an expression of rage. Somebody had earned the ire of these two.

"Oritel and Miriam Kadmos," Flora stated.

"Yeah. And that sword... It must be the one Hagen made," Bloom continued.

They all stood in silence for a moment.

"Well, we have to move on," Musa finally said. "Not much we can do for them right now."  
"No. No you're right," the Dominian princess said, shaking her head. "The others are probably still in trouble."  
"Then let us hurry," Musa grumbled. "If that bitch has hurt them, I'm gonna shove one of those bugs straight up her witch cauldron."  
"I'd make a joke about how nasty that is. But truth is, I'd probably be giving you a hand," Techna commented, as the group moved on.

Soon after they came to a small vale between three obsidian hills, one of which was carved to resemble a face. It was the shape of an old woman, with a hooked nose, notable wrinkles and a masquerade mask obscuring her eyes.

"So, does anyone know who that is?" Bloom asked.

"The Old Crone. A sort of amalgamate symbol of all three Ancestral Witches," Aisha said. "The mask especially became synonymous with the Coven, much like the butterfly mask of the Roccalucian Order. One reason for the amalgamate symbol is because it was said that the Ancestral Witches were so old and bound to one another that they ceased having individual identities."

"Huh. Well remembered," Musa said approvingly, as they walked down into the vale.

"Many thAIIIGHH!" Aisha screamed, as she jumped back, almost knocking over Stella and Musa. A withered and mummified corpse lay in the shade, hidden from view until that moment.

"Wow. Wonder who this poor bastard was," Techna said sympathetically.

"Dunno. But he wasn't the only one," Musa said as she looked around. "There are dozens of corpses here."  
"Goddess, everything around here is totally creepy," Stella said, her face growing a shade paler.

"I thought you were okay with mummies," Bloom noted.

"I'm okay with the respectfully interred and embalmed dead," the Solarian princess corrected. "But this. This is just horrible. How did they die?"  
"They died because we drained them of their vital essence," a voice echoed. Three people stepped forth on the massive head-shaped hill. "So, little princess, you've finally found us."  
"I guess you're speaking to me," Bloom noted. "Who are you?"  
"Haven't you guessed?" asked the elven woman. "We are the Ancestral Witches, rulers of the Coven."

"Really? You don't look like them," Musa noted. "Sure you aren't just a trio of pretenders?"

One of the witches snapped her fingers.

Suddenly, an obsidian spike jutted out from the ground with fierce force and incredible speed.

Musa stood there for a second, her brain stunned by the sight of the dark volcanic glass that now went straight through her right arm. A few seconds later, the pain hit. Her knees shook as she grabbed the spike for support, choking back a hoarse scream of agony as tears began streaming from her eyes.

"Musa. Deep breaths. Deep breaths," Flora strictly advised, as she began lifting the musician's arm off the spike. "Focus on my voice, Musa. Deep breaths."  
"Does that seem like the power of a pretender, girl?" one of the Ancestral Witches asked. "Or do you wish for another demonstration. We can surely do something much more impressive next time."

"YOU...!" Bloom began, already charging her flame, when Flora interrupted with a: "Bloom, no. Keep them talking while I get Musa patched up. We can ill afford to do battle when she is still stuck and if I rip her off too fast, I might just make the wound worse."  
"I... Fucking... Doubt... That." the musician gurgled, as she still fought the urge to scream.

The redhead bit her tongue, as she forced herself to calm down. "What do you want?!" she yelled.

"Right now? You," said the teenage boy. "You are the key to our return."

"And what does that mean?"  
"Unlike many realms, we never limited our study of magic," the human woman said. "We studied the forbidden sciences and magics of the soul and spirit. And we found that contrary to common wisdom, ghosts can in fact perpetuate their existence indefinitely."

"What... How?" Behind the redhead, Flora and Techna were intently doing what they could to staunch the flow of blood and close Musa's wound.  
"By fusing with a living person," the teenage boy said. "And using their body to replace the magic that ghosts are composed off. But most bodies... Well, they cannot handle the strain. A ghost's body requires more magic than most normally take in. In the end, the constant influx and drain of magic... Well." He extended his arm towards a pile of withered corpses. "In the end, it ruins them. And so we need to find new hosts before we run out of magic. But you, Bloom..."  
"You have the dragonflame within your body," continued the withered elf. "You're built to handle the large influx and outpouring of magic. Through you, we'd gain true eternal life."

"In theory, of course," the human woman admitted. "We intended to test and study you after Valtor brought you under our protection, to see if you'd truly be able to handle it. But now, even if you can't, the power that we could drain from you could keep us running for years."

"Well, if you think I'm going to let you..." Bloom started, but was cut off by the Ancestral Witches simultaneously informing her that: "Your cooperation was never a requirement, little princess."

Spikes, like the one that had hurt Musa, sprung from the ground and would have impaled all of the redhead's limbs if she had still been there. Fortunately for her, she wasn't, as Flora pulled her to safety at the last moment with a massive vine.

Seeing that the attack had failed to impale the princess, the teenage boy sneered and focused, conjuring a massive wave of flames.

Aisha concentrated her magic, pulling water from both the air and the bottles she had brought, forming a liquid wall that kept the fire at bay.

"I think it's time we make ourselves scarce," Techna suggested, pulling several grenades from her pockets. She hurled them to the ground where they exploded in a series of bright flashes and clouds of smoke.

The withered elf waved her hand and a powerful breeze removed the obstructing cloud, but by then the girls were gone.

The three possessed bodies exchanged glances, before spreading out and searching the area.

Nearby, the girls were hunkering down behind a couple of obsidian boulders.

"Alright. They're pretty dangerous," Stella noted. "Musa. How's your arm?"  
"You mean besides the bleeding hole that feels like liquid agony?" Musa asked through clenched teeth. "Just fine. Thanks for asking."  
"Well, ask a stupid question..." the blonde muttered, peering over the rock.

"What we need is a plan," Flora stated. "Just charging straight at all three of them will only put us at risk."  
"So, what, we attack them individually?" Aisha inquired.

"If possible, yes. We must also keep in mind that they have certain weaknesses. For one thing, while they are very old and experienced, their very existence drains them of magic, even more so when they cast spells. No doubt they hoped to end the conflict with a decisive strike." Flora began pacing. "They might not be able to last long in a battle of attrition."  
"Even more so if we can destroy their current bodies," Musa noted. "Then they will be forced to go back to being ghosts, which will make it impossible for them to replace spent energy."  
"But... What about the people they are possessing?" Bloom asked.

"As brutal as this may sound, it is probably in everyone's best interest that we presume that they are damaged beyond salvation at this point," Flora said, though she did not sound happy about it. "Musa is right. Depriving them of a source of magic is the best we can do. Besides, the damage the bodies had already sustained lends credence to the fact that they are being burnt out. Death might be a kindness."

"But we don't actually know that," Techna noted sombrely. "I mean, I agree, it's our best shot, but man does that fucking suck."

"One of them is coming this way," Stella noted, as she peered over the edge again.

"They are probably in permanent contact with each other," Flora noted. "The moment one of them sees us, the others will be on us before long."

"So we'll have to be quick about it, eh? Then I have an idea," Musa said. "Bloom, get ready."  
The withered elf walked across the obsidian flats, her dark eyes scanning the wasteland for any sign of the faeries. Suddenly, she heard something. A whispering. She focused on a nearby hill. It was definitely the sound of the faeries.

With a swift surge of magic, the witch destroyed the hill, burying everything behind it under jagged black boulders.

The Coven leader quickly realised, however, that the everything that had been buried consisted of equal amount of nothing and obsidian. A projection of sound.

Immediately, Bloom jumped out from the girls' actual hiding spot, channelling her flame into a massive ray of fire.

The Ancestral Witch had prepared for this and raised a powerful magical shield, blocking the assault.

What she had not prepared for was Stella jumping out from a second spot, her staff charged.

The witch tried to react to her attack, but even she could not match the speed of light. A searing lance of pure solar power pierced her side, incinerating her torso and causing her to crumple. Her focus on the shield faded and what was left of her was burnt to ash by Bloom's attack.

"Well... That was... Brutal," Aisha noted, as she poked out.

"Yeah... Brutal..." Stella said a bit exhausted. "Just don't..." Her request was interrupted by an obsidian pillar suddenly jutting out from the ground and pounding into her face. The blonde stumbled back, her head ringing and her eyebrow bleeding, as she felt a couple of her teeth loosen from her gums.

Bloom blinked and noticed the dark shape hovering where the elf had been, before a similar pillar sprung from the ground by her, smashing into her stomach and sending her flying a meter back, earning her numerous scrapes and tears as she rolled across the hard surface. She tried to get up, her stomach threatening to evacuate all of its content.

"Don't think I need to a body to destroy you," hissed the ancient shade, as it closed in on the other girls.

Aisha tried to hit the advancing spectre with a blast of water, but it passed through its incorporeal body. "Oh no," she muttered.

Then there was a bright flash as lightning suddenly struck right beside her, causing the obsidian glass to shatter and sent the princess of Tides flying through the air.

"Spirits!" Musa cursed and jumped to the fallen girl's aid, while Techna and Flora turned towards the source of the attack.

The two other ancestors had arrived.

...

With a mighty heave of his maul, Hagen crushed the head of the great beetle, killing the creature. His opponent dead, he allowed himself a moment to breathe and survey the situation. It was not going well for them. Many of the mutated bugs had fallen, but in the process they had all been injured and exhausted. Hagen himself was bleeding from a massive gash in his arm that went all the way to the bone, preventing him for using his maul efficiently.

The possessed Riven had engaged Sky in battle. The prince was at a great disadvantage, as he was desperately trying not to harm his friend, a courtesy the magenta-haired soldier was incapable of returning.

Mandragora herself had engaged Brandon. He might have stood a chance one on one, but with the witch constantly bringing in her minions to harry him on the sides, he was forced to fight defensively. It was a losing battle. A combination of fatigue and blood loss was robbing him of strength.

Timmy, much like Hagen, had been busy keeping the various insects at bay, blasting them with his rifle. However, one of the centipedes had managed to rip the rifle from his grasp. Now he was being forced into a corner, trying to keep the monsters at bay with his pistol.

The pixies had tried to help out in the start, but after Piff almost got herself impaled on the stinger of one of the wasp-like beasts, Brandon had ordered them to take the unconscious Glim and hide.

The artificer wished he could come to their aid. But the relentless insectile monsters had cut them off and surrounded them. Hagen knew they were losing. But even so, he lifted his weapon as more monsters closed in. He would not give the Coven the satisfaction of taking him without a fight. With a roar, he charged forward, swinging his massive hammer with his remaining good arm.

One, two, three, four. Every swing crushed another monster, even as his arm began to feel like liquid fire was rushing through his veins. It wasn't meant to be used with one hand, putting an immense strain on his limb. He swung again, crushing the hide of a spider-esque monster, and tried to lift it again to fend off one of the centipede monstrosities. However, his tired arm could no longer lift his weapon quickly and the monster used his moment of helplessness to surge forward. Its mandibles pierced the skin of his stomach and he was nailed to the ground, his skull crashing against the rocky surface. As he tried to remain conscious, he let his gaze wander again.

Timmy was trying to reload, but without backup, he was swarmed by a wave of insects.

Brandon's strength finally failed him and Mandragora knocked his sword away with a decisive swipe.

Sky's reluctance to use too much force caused him to hesitate. Riven had none, his blade slicing through the prince's arm, cutting off his hand. Another cut left a nasty gash through his side and Riven danced around him to deliver a final slash across his back. And then he kicked him to the ground.

Hagen breathed out and allowed the darkness to swallow him.

He was violently ejected from unconsciousness by a slap across the face.

"Wake up. You're not allowed to die yet," Mandragora sneered. "The Ancestral Witches have requested that I preserve you all in case their plan for Bloom fails."  
"Huh... Wha?" Hagen drowsily asked and looked around. He was currently wrapped up by one of the centipede beasts. He forced himself to look to the side. The other boys, except Riven, were in a similar situation. He then slowly refocused his gaze on the zealous witch, glaring angrily at her.

"And now we wait," she said, as she turned her eyes to the portal. "Before long, my glorious mistresses will rob your precious princess of her body and with it start a new grand age of witchcraft."  
"Dear Dragon. I just realised," Sky hoarsely commented. "You really _do_ believe all the horseshit you're spewing." This comment earned him a vicious backhand from the Coven devotee.

Not far from this, Riven stood in the rain, gazing at the spectacle with empty eyes. Suddenly, a well-manicured hand wrapped around his mouth, as a finger was jabbed into the swollen insect bite. The magenta-haired soldier tried to struggle, but stopped as magic seeped into him, burning away the mind-controlling growth. His eyes cleared as he slowly regained control of himself.

Caramel hair came into view as Valtor leaned in over his shoulder. "Alright, listen," he whispered. "We're all in a bit of a pickle here, but I have an idea for how we can unpickle your friends."

Back down in the valley, Mandragora was still focused on the unopened portal, staring at it with rapturous glee. She heard footsteps and glanced out of the corner of her eye at Riven, who stared ahead with an empty gaze.

"You? Go back into your corner. I don't have..." Mandragora tried to order, but she was cut off by her own scream as the soldier suddenly lashed out with his sable, cutting a deep rift in her side. As she stumbled back, Valtor jumped out from behind a rock, still clad in his white Lightrock robes, and held up Glim in his hands. The pixie focused and blasted the insect army with a great flash of light, overloading their compound eyes.

As the stunned bugs tried to regain the composure, the other three pixies flew over the horde, dropping grenades gathered from the Red Fountain ship. They detonated amid the teeming mass, sending shrapnel in all directions. The four centipedes dropped their prisoners in the confusion and writhed around, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Woohoo! Point goes to the pixies!" Piff yelled excitedly.

Mandragora tried to regain control of her troops, but was prevented from doing so by a rather angry Riven hurling himself at her, attacking her with several fluid swings that constantly kept her dodging.

As this was going on, Valtor rushed over to the fallen Brandon and began closing his wound with his magic. While he was technically not allowed to do so, this was mostly enforced by dampening devices installed in Lightrock, so his departure from the place had allowed him to regain some of his magical energy. Nothing close to what he had with an active dragonflame, but enough to heal a couple of people.

"Ok, you're mostly fine. Go squish bugs while they're still confused," Valtor ordered, handing the squire his sword before rushing over to Sky.

Mandragora dodged out of Riven's assault by transforming into a swarm and flying to a nearby cliff. Her army was disintegrating. She had already lost many of her creatures wearing down the soldiers, but now this ambush there was actually a risk she might actually lose. She focused, magically contacting her mistresses, giving them a quick overview of the situation.

Their response was quick.

Mandragora nodded and re-transformed into a swarm, manifesting by the portal, which she opened with a mental command.

"SHE'S ESCAPING!" Timmy yelled.

"FINISH OFF THE BUGS FIRST!" Brandon ordered. "THEN PURSUE!"

The Coven devotee assumed her swarm form again and flew into the Obsidian Prison, even as the remaining bugs were slaughtered.

"So, weren't you supposed to be sequestered at Red Fountain?" Brandon asked of Valtor, as the group pursued Mandragora into the other world.

"Yes. But I decided my skills might come in handy," the dandy magi replied.

"How did you escape?"  
"Turned the TV on to a game of Bombozzle Ball, waited for the squad to be engrossed, then escaped out the bathroom window. Then it was just a question of sneaking into the garage and borrow one of your ships."  
"How did you borrow one of our ships?" Timmy asked. "You have to ask the control room before lift-off."  
"Well, I just mimicked the voice of one of the pilots that had been ordered to guard me and said I was late for a meeting with some of my friends." The Dominian prince shrugged. "Technically true."

"Boy. Can't wait for Saladin to hear how you pulled that off," Riven commented. He looked around. "So, is it just me or are there a lot of people here?"  
"Yes. The lost people of Domino," Hagen mentioned.

The echoing sound of an explosion reached them.

"Bad noise," Glim noted ominously.

"We need to hurry." Brandon stated. "Pixies, wait by the portal. Rest of your, follow me."  
"Right. Hey, wait..." Valtor stopped, as he suddenly noticed his frozen parents. "You guys run ahead. I'll need a little extra if I'm to help without my flame."  
"Huh? Ah, I see," Hagen commented. "It might not be necessary, but even so... Get it. We'll go ahead."  
As the group ran off, the dandy magi walked over to the frozen royal couple. "I really screwed up, didn't I?" he commented, then eyed his father. "Runs in the family I suppose. Do you mind if I borrow this for a bit?" He grabbed his father's blade and began wrenching it free from his paralysed hand. "I'll take your silence as permission," the crown prince grunted, as he used his magic to force the king to let go.

...

Flora took a moment to appreciate how weird the world looked when it was upside down. Then her majestic flight through the air ended and she crashed to the ground, bouncing roughly a couple of times. She forced herself up, doing a quick mental check-list of her damages. It felt like at least three of her ribs had come loose, making them a severe danger to her internal organs. Her wrist and three fingers on her left arm were clearly broken. And while she couldn't feel anything definitive, being bounced around like that could have caused other internal damage, up to and including concussion and whiplash.

She pushed herself up from the ground. It wasn't anything she couldn't live with for a little while longer.

The situation had quickly devolved when all three of the Ancestral Witches had attacked. The one who had had her body destroyed fought just as viciously, much more willing to risk her ghostly existence than anticipated. The only thing really holding the three back was their unwillingness to fatally harm Bloom.

So far, the faeries had managed to keep the three at bay, but not truly counter their attacks or do any real damage. On the other hand, the constant barrage of attacks had left the them weakened and wounded, the latest being the powerful explosion that had sent Flora flying.

She gritted her teeth, adrenaline flooding her body as she tried to make sense of things.

Bloom and Aisha were currently split up from the others, harried by the spectral witch.

The two other Coven leaders had focused their attack on the rest of the faeries. One precision strike with an obsidian boulder had shattered Musa's leg and she was now unable to move on her own. This severely hampered Stella who assisted her with walking. Already the Solarian princess had received a number of ugly wounds, from acid burns on her shoulder to a vicious path of scorched skin on her leg. Now they were both pinned down by the teenage boy, who was currently directing waves of pure frost at them.

Flora and Techna had been ducking behind another obsidian rock, but the Ancestral possessing the human woman had quite literally blown their cover, which was what had sent the brunette flying. Now, she was scouting around, trying to find out what had happened to Techna. She immediately spotted the notable colour of her friend's hairdo against the bleak backdrop. The scarred girl was lying still among the rocks, hopefully just unconscious.

However, the Coven leader that had just attacked them had also seen her and was now advancing, small flecks of obsidian breaking off around her as she prepared to finish the magenta-haired girl off.

Flora scowled and set off into a sprint. Each step sent jolts of pain through her body and probably worsened her injuries by several magnitudes, but she was out of options. As the possessed woman prepared to fire her spell, Flora reached into her seed pouch and flung some of its content, which detonated into massive clouds of petals and pollen, temporarily obscuring everything. Then she picked another, larger seed, this one growing into a thorny vine in her hand, which fired several spikes through the sweet smelling cloud at where the Ancestor had last been.

A powerful shockwave of wind exploded from the depths of the cloud, flinging back thorns and pollen. Flora had to raise her hand and protect her eyes to prevent herself from being blinded by the sudden onslaught of pollen.

When it passed, the possessed woman had turned towards Flora and fired a series of obsidian flechettes at her. The Limphean noble leapt to the side, but couldn't completely dodge. Several of the projectiles lodged themselves in her and tore open her side. Several more went straight through her legs, slicing through tendons and muscle. Flora found that her legs suddenly became unable to support her and she crashed to the ground.

She bit her tongue as her body began reporting the damage and she stared angrily as the Ancestral Witch raised her hands to finish her opponent off.

There was a strange meaty pop and the Ancestor stumbled forward with a confused expression as something hit her back. Then her torso detonated violently.

Flora blinked in surprise.

Some distance away, Timmy loaded another explosive round into his rifle.

Over by Stella and Musa, the teenage boy advanced, a sadistic smirk on his face as he pelted them with spells. The two faeries tried to counter him by using general spells to raise shields and barriers, but a powerful flash of lightning broke through, hurling them to the ground.

"And so it ends," the Ancestor concluded, raising a hand. He suddenly registered movement to the side, turning in time to block Brandon and Riven's assault.

"YOU LAY ONE MORE FINGER ON HER AND I SWEAR TO THE DRAGON...!" Riven yelled as he continued his attack, only for him and the squire to be flung back with a shockwave.

"You'll what?" the possessed teen taunted them as he approached. "Bleed on me?"

From the cover nearby, the princess and musician took the moment to catch their breath.

"Stella, my arm's useless. Grab my flute," Musa ordered.

The blonde didn't waste any time arguing, immediately diving into the musician's backpack. The black-haired fairy winced as the strap tugged on her sore arm. Finally, Stella retrieved the bone flute and handed it over.

Riven grimaced as he tried to focus, his back sore from being propelled into the rocks. A shadow fell over him and he looked up to see the teenage boy magically holding a block of obsidian.

"I guess this is goodbye then," the teen mockingly said.

Suddenly, a loud, piercing tone could be heard. The boy's eyes widened as his eardrums ruptured and several of his bones cracked. He screamed as he tried to focus through the pain. The magenta-haired soldier leapt up and swung his blade, cutting through the possessed boy's arms.

With a sickening crunch, the obsidian rock fell down on top of him, crushing him to paste.

"And goodbye to you too," Riven mumbled sarcastically, before turning to the others. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Do we fucking look okay?" Musa asked, as Stella helped her closer.  
"Well, you're alive. So that's something," Riven suggested.

"How uncharacteristically positive of you," Brandon commented.

In another part of the obsidian plains, Bloom and Aisha was being backed into a corner by the spectral Ancestor.

"Don't... Don't float any closer," Bloom tried to threaten.

"Or what? You'll burn me?" the spectre hissed, as she floated closer.

"Halt. Or we shall smite you!" someone triumphantly declared.

The ghost turned and stared at her challengers.

Sky, who no longer could use his shield due to a lack of hand, and Hagen stood in a dramatic pose on a nearby cliff, glowering at the shade.

The Ancestral Witch flew up into the air, as if to attack, before suddenly stopping. It tilted its shadowy head, as if straining to hear a distant sound, then flittered off.

"Wow. That actually worked," Sky said surprised. "I was just hoping we could distract it."

"Sky!" Bloom said relieved, as she and Aisha ran over to them. "I am soh my God! What happened to your arm?!"  
"Oh. This?" Sky said, looking at where his limb had been an hour ago. "I lost it."

"You lost most of your arm?" the redhead repeated in disbelief.

"Well, technically Riven cut it off and I never bothered to look for it. But he was possessed at the time, so that's okay," Sky explained. "Well, not okay, but what I mean is that I don't blame him."

"Is he better now?" Aisha asked.

"Yeah. Turns out that Valtor fella decided to come lend us a hand," Hagen said. "Managed to free Riven from the mind control."  
"Valtor's here?" the redhead asked in a mixture of eagerness and surprise. "Where?"  
"Back there somewhere. He saw his parents and said he'd meet up with us later."

Suddenly a hoarse shriek rang out. Everyone turned to see Mandragora standing on a cliff with a look of near insane fury. "YOU... YOU...!" she began, as she beheld the carnage. "YOU DARE... YOU... ARGHHHH!" She raised her hands to the sky. "MISTRESSES! I FAILED YOU! I COULDN'T STOP THEM FROM INTERFERING! TAKE MY BODY! I LAY DOWN MY LIFE AND FREE WILL, SO THAT YOU MAY SUCCEED!"

"That woman sounds like a bad porno," Techna groaned, as Timmy and Flora helped her up.

From out of the broken bodies seeped the two other shades, as the third ghost joined them in circling around Mandragora. "Your sacrifice is accepted," they spoke as one, before diving into the devotee. She gasped in pain as the three souls fused into her, overriding her will and stilling her soul. The newly created horror looked up with eyes as black as oblivion. " **Now then,** " it spoke in the voice of not only Mandragora, but all three of the Ancestral Witches. " **We shall rend you all asunder.** " It lifted its hands and great balls of fire started raining from the sky. The people below quickly scattered as the projectiles hit, exploding with the force of ballistic missiles.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" Bloom yelled to be heard over the explosions.

"I DON'T KNOW! BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THAT NOW THEY'RE IN ONE BODY, THEY CAN CONSTANTLY CAST FUSION SPELLS!" Aisha yelled back.

The Ancestral amalgamate switched from fire to flushing the area with ice. Musa, Riven and Brandon were only barely saved by Stella raising a shield of solar heat.

Then thousands of spikes shot out from the ground. Then hundreds of lightning strikes. Combined, the witches were releasing enough power to create a localized apocalypse.

A blast of raw energy almost incinerated Aisha and Hagen, only stopped by the latter having a magical shielding armlet that took the brunt of the force.

Bloom saw this and gritted her teeth. They were all too busy evading and just trying to stay alive to fight back. And even if they destroyed the possessed Mandragora, the ghosts would still fight on. Deprived of options, the Dominian princess took a desperate decision.

She charged.

Obsidian exploded, burned, melted, transformed and froze around her, as she charged up the black hill the fused Ancestors was standing on. "STOP HURTING MY FRIENDS!" she yelled, as she got close. "IT'S ME YOU WANT!"

The Ancestral amalgamate stopped its assault and turned. " **Do you give yourself up then, little princess? To become our new host?** " Already, Mandragora's body was withering under the strain, looking more and more corpse-like with each passing second.

"Yes," Bloom replied. "Just don't hurt them."  
" **How noble,** " they intoned and concentrated. A hand of obsidian shot up around Bloom and grabbed her, before pulling her closer. " **Do not squirm,** " they cooed, as Mandragora's corpse reached out towards her. " **It will be over in a second.** "

"Excuse me, can you hold this for a second?" Valtor asked, before jamming the enchanted blade into the amalgamate's back.

A terrifying scream exploded from Mandragora's mouth, as the three witches for the first time in over a decade experienced pain. The magical sword sliced through their ethereal form, burning it away with its touch.

Valtor used the distraction to turn the possessed body around, then kicked the hilt of the blade, not only driving it deeper in, but also sending them tumbling down the hillside with a series of sickening crunches, as Mandragora's body shattered upon the black rocks.

The obsidian hand fell apart and Bloom stepped over to the edge, the dragonflame already burning in her eyes. She looked down upon the broken creature below, which was desperately clawing at the sword, trying to dislodge it. Bloom focused, drawing upon all the lessons she had learnt from both Maia and painful experience.

And then she let loose.

An overwhelming beam of the purest flame washed down the hill and collided with the Coven horror. There was no final scream of pain or rage, just the rushing of flame as the body was annihilated, reduced to fine ash on the spot. When Bloom finally ceased firing, there was nothing but a molten pool of melted obsidian, in the middle of which glowed her father's sword. The Dominian princess' hands where red and raw, the fingertips burnt black, and parts of her hair and clothes had been burnt to ash by proximity. She felt weak and almost stumbled, but Valtor caught her with a: "Wow, there, Sister. I don't think you should celebrate with a swan dive into a pool of molten glass."

"Sounds sensible," she muttered, as everyone rushed up to them.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Techna yelled excitedly. "THEY DIDN'T STAND A CHANCE!"

"Well, once Valtor had jabbed them with the sword at least," Musa commented. "Wish we had thought of bringing it along."  
"Speaking of bringing it along, can anyone fish it up from that pool?" Valtor asked. "I kinda burned up my reserves of energy fixing up the Red Fountain guys and I think it'll be hard to find again if it cools down, given that everything around here looks the same."  
"I think I have an idea," Timmy muttered. "Aisha, I'll need your help."  
"What do we, like, do now then?" Stella asked as the princess of Tides and the bespectacled sniper went off.

"Take a break," Valtor said. "Because once you're all ready, I'm going to need your help undoing the curse."

"In that case, I probably better go get the pixies in here," Brandon noted.

...

"And you are absolutely sure this will work?" Brandon asked for the hundredth time. "No incidents with people reappearing in the middle of a glacier or something like that, right?"

"I have made my calculations," Valtor replied. "All the people will, instead of being sent back to where they were taken from as was the original plan, be sent to the Pearl Fields, not far outside the capital. Combined with an instant improvement of the weather and Stella's cooperation, everyone should be safe and comfortable until reinforcements from Eraklyon can arrive."  
"If Sky can get his father to stop yelling for five minutes," the squire noted.

"What's the matter?"  
"Well, Sky said he was going to Red Fountain, not on a dangerous mission that would lead him into a confrontation with the Ancestral Witches." The brunette smirked. "The King threatened to basically ground him by not allowing his arm to be regrown for the next couple of months. Empty threats and Sky knows that, but still."

"Alright, so Father has everyone ready," Sky sighed as he walked over to them. "Soldiers and medics will be pouring in the moment the curse is lifted." He paused. "You two sure that your nobles will be okay with this? It is a rather large military group being sent in after all."  
"Do I look like somebody who cares about their opinions right now?" Bloom asked, eyebrow raised.

"Quite frankly? No. Not at all." The blond shifted his attention to the Dominian prince. "And you?"

"I buried their property under a blanket of endless harsh winter. To say that I've long ceased caring for what they think would be an understatement," Valtor informed him. "That being said, I do realise that wasn't the nicest thing to do. Undoing the curse is but a small part of my attempts at making restitutions. On that note, can I have your attention for a moment, Hagen?"

"Yeah. What is it?" the artificer inquired.

"You're the only one here who's really interacted with my parents on a regular basis who isn't me," Valtor explained. "You'll have to serve as a, for a lack of better word, diplomatic envoy. Help them up to speed and such."  
"Ai. I'll do it."  
"Then we are ready." Valtor clapped his hands, getting people's attention. "Alright, everyone who wishes to donate some magic, form a circle around me. Everyone else can go sit among the other people. Will make it easier to pick you all up when we leave."

Most of the men went away, but Riven joined the circle of girls. He noticed a look of surprise on Musa's face, before informing her: "Look, I haven't got much, but a little extra can always help."

"Hey, I'm just glad you've decided to join some more group activities," she responded.

"Alright everyone, focus on me," Valtor started. "This is a complicated one, so try to empty your minds of all thoughts but our task. I'll direct it all, so focus on the way I shape the magic. If any of you feel anything going wrong, say so. Otherwise... Well, results could be less than survivable. But don't focus on that. Focus on undoing the curse."  
"Like, I should probably have written a last will or something first," Stella muttered, as Valtor began mixing his magic with the surrounding magi.

Very quickly, the air became thick with energy, as the collective power of the magi began mixing. There was a thickness and heat to it that made it hard to breathe. Small electrical sparks went off in the air, as the energy flowed out, merging with the ancient bindings of the curse.

Some distance away, the others observed it.

"Can you feel that?" Timmy asked.

"Pretty sure if I tried, I could taste it," Brandon remarked. "That's some powerful magic we got there."

"Should I go cheer on them?" Piff asked.

"No. I don't think distractions are going to be beneficial right now," Tune stated.

Slowly, the decades old weave of the curse began unravelling. And then the spell went off in a bright flash. When the light faded, all living things had been removed from the Obsidian Prison.

Silence fell over the dead world.

And then the portal out shimmered into reality. A faint, almost imperceptible shade seeped through it, before it closed again.

...

The changes, while not instantaneous, were certainly quite noticeable. The heavy cover of clouds that had hung over the kingdom of Domino for years began dissipating, the first sign of the eternal winter being banished.

Next, on one of the great plains, there was a great burst of sunlight, melting and evaporating the thick layer of snow.

This was followed by a great white flash that filled the area, as suddenly thousands of people popped into existence. A sort of stunned silence fell over the plains. As far as many people had experienced, one second they were in the middle of their homes, the next they were suddenly outside, surrounded by strangers. This utter confusion brought about a sort of paralysation, as everyone looked to everyone else for answers. Slowly, some started to look around, trying to find friends and loved ones.

In the middle of it all, the enactors of the ritual allowed themselves a moment to collapse on the hard ground.

"Alright... I'll... I'll just be... Fainting over here for a little... Little bit," Techna gasped.

"My head's spinning," Aisha groaned.

"I can't feel my toes," Stella complained.

"That was... Was probably... The largest expenditure... Of magic... I have... Have ever... Participated... In," Flora stated, trying her best to control her breathing.

"Feels kinda... Familiar to me," Bloom mumbled. "At least I didn't set myself more on fire."  
"Hey, are you all okay?" Hagen asked, as he, Brandon, Sky and Timmy approached them. "That was quite the trick."  
"What's up, Riven? You look a bit winded," Sky noted.

The magenta-haired soldier strained to move his lips, producing at strange mumble-gumble sound.

"Well, you're as eloquent as usual, so I think you'll be fine," the prince noted jovially.

Bereft of energy, Riven could do nothing but glare at him.

"With that being said, could you go look for the royal couple?" Valtor asked, looking at Hagen. "The sooner we get all of these people organized, the sooner we can avoid a sudden panic. They're still in shock, after all."  
"Will do. You all just stay put. You've done more than enough," the big man said, before walking off.

"Bloom... I'm not going to dictate anything, but I'd advise you wait a bit before introducing yourself to your parents," the dandy magi noted.

"Oh. Why?"

"Because they'll need time to adjust to the fact that they've missed out on circa fifteen years, which included your entire childhood, and the fact that..." Valtor sighed. "The fact that Daphne became a ghost who's now thoroughly dead."  
"Oh. Yeah, that," Bloom said sadly, as she sat up. She paused. "Thanks for coming to help us, by the way. You didn't have to do that."  
"Quite the contrary, Bloom, I did," Valtor stated, as he pulled Daphne's mask from inside his robes. "Not only because it was the right thing to do, but also... I guess I needed to prove to myself that I could still do the right thing." He scrutinized the mask. "What was it she said. That if I doubted myself I should just look at this mask, right? Well, that's what I did. After you left, I had this niggling feeling that I could actually have done more to help. But to be honest, I doubted I could. I've made so many bad decisions lately."  
"What are you talking about? It took you over a decade to make your next big screw-up," Techna joked.

"Well, true. But I spent most of the interim time in a freezer, so that doesn't count." Valtor returned his gaze to the mask. "But yes, I think I needed this. Now... I think I'm ready... To truly say goodbye." He took a deep breath and held up the mask. A charge of magic went through his hands and the butterfly mask turned to dust, which was quickly carried off by the wind. "Goodbye, Daphne. Thanks for the help."

They all sat in silence for a while.

"Hey. I think those are the ships from Eraklyon," Musa noted and pointed towards the horizon.

"Excellent. Then I can duck and cover for a while before somebody figures out what I've been responsible for," Valtor noted.

...

The weeks following the undoing of the curse of Domino was a hectic mess for everybody involved to say the least. Not only did the almost complete restoration of Domino as a country shake up politics at every level of the multiverse, it also tremendously boosted the media attention for everybody involved.

Motions for assisting Domino in its rebuilding were soon brought up in all the known realms and many of said realms did indeed contribute everything from manpower to money in an effort to rebuild Domino. Temporary lodging for most of the citizens had to be provided, as the years of constant winter had severely damaged Dominian infrastructure.

One of the first buildings to be restored was the castle, as ensuring the full resurrection of the Dominian government was seen as paramount to the restoration of the realm as a country. And once the castle was inhabitable again, the royal couple decided to host a grand event to celebrate the restoration of their country, even if from their perspective it had never really gone away.

And of course, everyone involved had been invited. Even Valtor, who had been instrumental in creating the whole mess to begin with.

It was therefore with a mixture of concern and excitement that Bloom went to the party, accompanied by her friends and Faragonda. On one hand, she looked forward to actually meeting her parents. On the other, well, the breaking of the curse had pretty much changed everything.

"So how does it feel knowing that you won't have to rule the country for a couple more decades?" Musa asked, as they walked up the stairs to the front doors of the ballroom.

"It's actually quite the relief," Bloom commented. "Maybe now the nobles will get off my back about me getting married and such." She glanced at Faragonda, trying to judge the headmistress' expression. "They won't, huh?"  
"Well, I cannot speak for everyone of course," the elder fairy began. "But some might still believe that it is for the best that the kingdom has as stable a line of succession as possible."  
"I might soon just start following your example and drink tea by the gallons."

They opened the doors. The ballroom was large, filled with gentle soothing music and lit up by giant chandeliers.

Techna whistled. "Fancy place. Kinda slow music, but whatever."  
"Are you still sure you're appropriately dressed?" Aisha questioned the scarred girl.

"What? All of these clothes are in excellent condition, thanks to Stella helping me buy some new threads," Techna insisted, correcting her sombrero.

"She basically went from store to store, buying one piece she really liked from each," the Solarian princess informed Musa, causing the musician to giggle.

"Well, no accounting for taste I suppose," Aisha sighed. "Let us find the boys. Nabu promised he'd be here."

"Sky said he'd show up too. But I guess I better say hi to my parents first," Bloom noted. "You girls go have fun. I'll start mingling later."

"Very well then. Do give our regards," Flora said, as the other girls wandered off into the partying crowd.

Bloom took a deep breath.

"Need a moment?" Faragonda asked.

"No. No it's okay. Let's get it over with."

The two of them crossed through the room to where the royal couple were currently greeting some nobles from another realm.

They were both now dressed in much more formal clothes. King Oritel was dressed in a crimson coat with white fur trimming and wearing a strange, oblong combination of helmet, crown and shoulder plates that made Bloom wonder if his neck got sore from it. Queen Miriam wore a very detailed and layered light-green dress with pink highlights, her red hair stylised in a complicated bulb that incorporated both her crown and a string of pearls.

Bloom immediately started hoping that princesses could choose their own dress and hairstyle.

"Oritel. Miriam," Faragonda addressed them after the dignitaries left. "Good to see you both again."  
"Likewise, Emanuela. Though it hasn't been that long for us," Oritel responded. Both he and his wife noticed Bloom. "Oh. Hello."  
"Ehm... Hi," the redhead princess tried.

Awkwardness settled over the group as parents and child stood there, trying to figure out what to say next.

"It was... Quite a shock when we found out what had happened," Miriam finally said. "We're of course very sad to have missed your childhood, but we hope to make up for the fact." She tilted her head slightly. "I presume that you'd like to keep your name?"  
"If... If that's okay." The princess scratched her neck. "I've kinda gathered that I should probably also legally get Kadmos in there somewhere. But if I can keep Peterson too, that would be nice."  
"I don't see why not," the queen said.

"Though it would have to become your middle-name of course," Oritel mumbled, as he began speculating. "Kadmos is your official family name after all. There have been cases were some members of the family were married off and took another last name, only to be called in to rule later due to various circumstances. I should probably study the precedents set by..." His mumbling became even more incomprehensible, as he was seemingly lost in thought.

Bloom couldn't help but notice Miriam slightly rolling her eyes. "Deary, we can go over the details another time," she informed him, shaking the king out of his thoughts. "For now, all that matters is that Bloom knows she can keep the names she has grown comfortable with."  
"Oh? Oh, but of course." The king cleared his throat. "Anyway, ehm... It was nice to finally meet you, Bloom. We'll need to talk later of course. About living arrangements and such. Different things. But for now, enjoy the party. It's as much for you as for the kingdom. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go greet the representative from Oppositus." Then he sauntered off.

"Living arrangements?" Bloom asked.

"Nothing you need to be concerned about right now," Miriam informed her. "Emanuela has agreed to let you stay for the rest of the vacation. It's just for when you come back here, if nothing else then during the next summer."  
"Oh. Right. I live in a castle now." The redhead princess scratched her neck again. "Still getting used to that."  
"Indeed. We're all caught up in the great changes at the moment." The queen sighed. "For now, enjoy the party. I must go assist your father." Then she too walked off.

"I didn't realise you needed two people to greet newcomers," Bloom commented.

"It shows they both care," Faragonda said. "But I'd say you should follow their advice and mingle a bit. I see one guy in particular who'd like to talk."  
"Huh? Who?" Bloom asked, turning around to see Sky make his way over to her. "Sky. Good to see you with a new arm."  
"Yeah, well, Dad wasn't happy. But he had to admit I did good," Sky noted. "Anyway, I'm finally allowed to tell you what all the secrecy was about."  
"Oh. Do tell," Bloom said.

"Royals of Eraklyon are crowned thrice," Sky informed her. "Once as a child, which is basically when the king and queen accepts you as one of their kids. Then the second crowning shortly after you become an adult, which means you can now be officially assigned posts in the kingdom. That's what I've just gone through."  
"Oh. Why the secrecy?" Bloom asked.

"Security concerns. After the last official event ended with me being brainwashed by Valtor, he kinda wanted to err on the side of caution."  
"Well, I suppose I can't fault him for that. Well, what about the third crowning?"  
"Oh, that's when I actually become king of the country," Sky said. "Still a long time before that becomes a thing." He paused. "Well, hopefully. So, do you want to dance for a bit?"  
"I'd love to," Bloom replied with a grin, her cheeks flushing a bit.

After a couple of rounds on the dance floor, Sky had to go to the bathroom and left Bloom by the snack table. She was in the middle of a drink when Valtor suddenly placed a gloved hand on her shoulder while saying hello, almost causing her to choke.

"Do you... Always sneak up on people?" she asked, as she cleaned herself with a napkin.

"I've been told I have a knack for that, yes," the dandy magi replied, once again dressed in his fabulous gear. "So, how did the reunion with your parents go?"  
"It was awkward. Very awkward," Bloom sighed. "But I suppose that is to be expected. Have you greeted them yet?"  
"Yeah. Oritel tried to glare a hole through me." The sorcerer smirked. "But it'll take more than that to knock me out."  
"I predict family gatherings are also going to be very awkward," the redhead mumbled. "So, how are things going on Lightrock?"  
"Well, I've finally be assigned a therapist. His name is Theodore Trent, so I decided to call him Mr. Triple T." Bloom almost choked on her drink for a second time, as Valtor mused: "He didn't find that nearly as funny as you, by the way. But I like him. He allowed me to wear my old style and come to this party. As long as I agreed to wear this magic suppressant collar of course." He pointed to the leather strap around his neck, to which was attached a green gem. "I suspect it was more to calm everyone else down."

"Well, you did curse this realm with eternal winter," Bloom noted.

"It was only supposed to last a day, tops," the Dominian prince insisted.

"Hey, Bloom. Hey, Valtor," Helia said as he walked up to them. "Have you seen Flora and Mirta? I heard they were both invited."

"They were. Flora came with me. Dunno when Mirta arrived, but they should both be here by now," the redhead replied.

"Great. I was hoping to catch up with them a bit. Last year was so busy. I barely had time to meet up with them," the artist noted. "I've tried to improve my poetry since then, though I'll probably save that for another day. Anyway, I better get going if I'm to talk with them tonight. Catch you later, Bloom." Then he eagerly hurried off.

"I think I remember him," Valtor said. "Wasn't he the charming lad I kidnapped?"

"You're way too casual about that," the redhead commented. Her face lit up in a smile, before she called: "Oh. Oh. Eugene. Over here."

"Bloom," the nerdy noble greeted her as he came over. "Boy, am I glad to see you. I got flocked by nobles questioning me on what our family's full restoration of land and title would mean for my sister."  
"I don't see why that should be a problem. It's not like she's worse than most of the people here," Valtor cynically remarked. "She's just more honest about it."

"That's one way to look at it I suppose," Eugene remarked a bot uncomfortably. "So anyway. You were off on another dangerous mission to save the realms again. Heard you got to fight the Ancestral Witches. I've only ever done that as bonus bosses in some of my games."  
"It was quite something. Jealous?" Bloom teased.

"Heh, no, not at all. I'll stick to simulations. Not nearly as dangerous. Oh, hi Sky. Good to see the arm's better."  
"Thanks. And good to see you too," Sky greeted him. "So, can I steal Bloom away for another dance or would I be interrupting?"  
"We'll we weren't talking about anything in particular, but..." Eugene slowly said.

"If you're worried the other nobles will descend upon you like the proverbial buzzards that they are the moment my sister leaves your vicinity, do not worry," Valtor said. "They don't want to get anywhere near me."

"Heh, thanks for that," the nerdy noble replied. "So, what are your hobbies?"  
"Besides trying to take over the realm? Figure skating and gardening," Valtor remarked, as Sky and Bloom went out on the dance floor.

The dance and the party continued on long into the night.

 _And that is the end of our rewrite of the movie. Took way longer than it should have due to real life, but oh well, that's how it goes. Hope you have all enjoyed it._

 _Special thanks goes to Rhanar, Warlord1, Fluttersniper and Moka-girl for beta reading. See you all in season 4._


End file.
